This last week before the Christmas break is always one of my favorite times of the school year. At my building, I started a tradition 2 years ago of sending the choir kids out into the school to sing carols and holiday songs. Maybe 2 years only qualifies as a “trend,” though. But with this being the 3rd year we’ve done it, it’s probably safe to dub it a tradition!
After the winter choir concert is completed, the kids spend a few days breaking into small groups and practicing the songs they’re going to sing for their classmates and teachers. I just sort of kick back and listen as the kids plan their lists and practice the seasonal songs they first learned when they were little kids.
I can hear in their voices and their big plans how excited they are. When they sing, I’m just overwhelmed sometimes by my good fortune to be in a position to help them do this thing they love so much. This year, I’m teaching my first batch of choir students who’ve been with me for 3 years, since they were in 6th grade. The banter between us is so easy and familiar. They know me well (one of them delights in mocking one of my favorite sayings: “I am a very tolerant person!”), and I know them, too. Getting them to be the best singers they can be can be challenging at times, but it never lacks entertainment value or sincere effort.
There are so many great things happening in a school on a regular basis. If you read the paper regularly, you usually find an assortment of bad, or even worse, bland news about schools. But school is such a dynamic place. Every day, we parents send of our young people–people with myriad talents and personalities–to spend the day with hundreds of other young people. The result is unique experience every day for them, and for us teachers. It never fails to surprise or amaze. A school is a great place to spend your day. As I watched my choir kids happily skip out the classroom door, heading off to entertain their classmates, I was reminded how great it is all over again.
