It’s very important that you have a handful of handrails that are 100% on your side in everything,” says Stone isagree with them, at least they know they’ve been heard,” says Mackintosh. Today, Stone is the principal of the Stone Band at Bourbon County High School in Paris, Kentucky, and he remembers thathe’ was a teenager and thathis’ own mother regularly discussed simple things like feeding time on group tours withhis’ music teacher. In other cases, group leaders have to seek advice from the school administration, especially when it comes to young teachers who are rejected by many older parents. But often, according to Stone, parents simply get carried away with their children and the music program. “My mother and my principal didn’t always get along,” says Stone. Everything looked great when they went back to the band room, but one of the parents took Stone and the director with them to complain about Stone’s criticism. One day, after performing below average, Stone, then the assistant director, told his students about his “own” mistakes. Listen before you get directly involved,” said Tim Trost, the group leader at Ayala High School in Chino Hills, California. Whenhe’ started to see the quality of work improve during the season,he’ came back to me andhe’ said: “Now I know what you’re talking about,” Stone said. Group leaders work daily with students and parents. When she was a young group leader, McLintosh spent a lot of time reflecting on the fairness of different policies that were being questioned. “Sometimes when there is a problem that needs to be solved, we take it to the board of directors, discuss it and come up with a solution,” Trost says. The stone was supposed to clean up a series of dust clouds with “their” parents in a regional competition. Parents are the glue that keeps the tire working.