Coming from a school where all the students knew all the other kids in practically every other grade, including their families, teaching at Versailles from Russia was a very difficult transition for Mrs. Stammen. “Friend cliques are there and all the children are stereotyped from the beginning,” she informed me. Graduating from a class of 300, Russia and Versailles’ schools are very different from what she grew up in. For Ronda, becoming a mom and wanting to be in a smaller school system for her children was crucial. Upon leaving Coldwater, she wanted to teach at Russia, and because of Russia having no football team, there weren’t many opportunities or reasons to have a marching band outside of parades. Alex, her second oldest child, wanted to be a tiger with her husband, being the football coach, but with the convenience of working part-time and no Marching Band at Russia, she had more time to be home with her children and enrolled them in Versailles’ school district, she told me.
Even though her former band kids did numerous parades, she loved the benefits of coming home to her family and being able to spend time with them. She knew what she was getting into coming to Versailles with all the time she would have to spend outside of school, but she needed to be sure that her family was ready for the transition of her being home all of the time to getting home late almost every night and having to go in extra hours on the weekends. After two weeks of long, hot days at band camp this summer at Versailles, Ronda realized how much she missed it.
With three kids still at home and one in college, adjusting to their mom not being home as much was bound to be difficult for them. Her youngest, Lucas, helps her husband, Bob, at football practice after school every day, and sophomore Alex is already in football. Michael, the second youngest, helps out with band Friday nights, and her oldest, Katelyn is away at college, so thankfully, she knows her kids are safe and watched, not at home getting into mischief. So whenever Ronda and her family are home, they try to have a nice family dinner and take advantage of the time they have together. Fortunately for her, the kids are learning more about doing housework on their own, which helps Ronda get a break coming home from a long day at school.
When I asked her why she wanted to become a band director, her response was very heartfelt. “When I was a senior in high school, I had artwork in state and national contests, and I knew I wanted to teach. I came from a line of teachers, and I had full rides to colleges. One day I said, I can draw and paint for all my life, but if I choose that, I’ll never do band again,” she said.
As a band director, one of the most difficult things about teaching is dealing with different age groups. The children in fifth and sixth grade are hands on, and the junior high kids are emotional and have attitudes. So as a mother-figure, Ronda does a lot of counseling with them, and the high schoolers are involved in a lot of drama and snap at you, but they play good music and make you feel good,” she said. After a couple months working at Versailles High School, she is still adjusting but will continue to thrive at her new job by bettering the band for future years.
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