School Program Afterglow
On the last day before Christmas break, Mr. Schrock, our principal, and I listened in delight at the magnificent sound from the church sanctuary where the school choir was singing. "They're really having fun," I said to Wes (Mr. Schrock).
"Oh, I know. It's great," he answered.
The programs were all past, and so Friday's choir was a just-for-fun sing-through of the songs they had worked hard on for a long time, and finally got to share in two separate programs. Each event was amazing. Their voices whispered and soared and jingled and bounced and boomed. These are high schoolers, some with undeveloped voices, and certainly some who have never considered themselves or been considered by others as having outstanding voices. Every enrolled student in our school is in choir, and twelve homeschooled students joined in.
Lyle Stutzman, who goes to our church, was our school's music teacher and choir director this year. He cajoled, scolded, threatened, and praised this bunch of 33 students into a singing group they eventually could all be proud to be part of.
The program featured some difficult music and one hymn from the song books we use for congregational singing in church. The group sang two pieces the director had written, and one written by John Miller, a student and choir member who wrote the song for an assignment last year. The Latin, Old English, and Zulu songs were translated, and the German song was so familiar we all translated on-the-fly as needed.
I sometimes envy the students in our school for the kind of education they have access to. While I am wistful about a few things I think should be better, compared to my public high school education, our school does a far better job of preparing students to contribute positively to church and community life than my high school did. This is not all that we aim for, of course, since we hope our students make a good contribution in the wider world as well. I'm confident that base is covered reasonably well, at least as well as it can be with the resources and personnel we have.
Graduates from here are currently living and working in China, Bangladesh, Sudan, and New York City, and others are volunteering a year or more of their lives in caring for the elderly or the handicapped. Many are teaching in Christian schools. In the past, there have been graduates in El Salvador, Paraguay, France, Belgium, Egypt, Syria, West Bank, Armenia, England, and Kenya. Some have attended Ivy League schools, and others have pursued graduate degrees.
Perhaps the greatest gift we who "live" together at school can give each other is to cultivate an atmosphere of trustworthiness and good will. I can't say enough about how much this helps to create a good learning environment. Then, when gifted teachers like Lyle come along, everyone is poised to get the full benefit from what such a teacher can offer. In the absence of such an atmosphere, even the most gifted teachers and students struggle to remain hopeful and engaged.
During my time at Pilgrim, I have been blessed to work with Harry, Wendell, Andrew, and now, Wesley and, less directly, Paul and Lyle--all of them blessed with great good gifts. What a pleasure!
And the students. . . . Right now we're just having a good time together. But some day, some adult will list them among the gifted colleagues they are privileged to work with. And someone will list all the ways and places these people are serving and making a good contribution. I hope I live to see that.
"Oh, I know. It's great," he answered.
The programs were all past, and so Friday's choir was a just-for-fun sing-through of the songs they had worked hard on for a long time, and finally got to share in two separate programs. Each event was amazing. Their voices whispered and soared and jingled and bounced and boomed. These are high schoolers, some with undeveloped voices, and certainly some who have never considered themselves or been considered by others as having outstanding voices. Every enrolled student in our school is in choir, and twelve homeschooled students joined in.
Lyle Stutzman, who goes to our church, was our school's music teacher and choir director this year. He cajoled, scolded, threatened, and praised this bunch of 33 students into a singing group they eventually could all be proud to be part of.
The program featured some difficult music and one hymn from the song books we use for congregational singing in church. The group sang two pieces the director had written, and one written by John Miller, a student and choir member who wrote the song for an assignment last year. The Latin, Old English, and Zulu songs were translated, and the German song was so familiar we all translated on-the-fly as needed.
I sometimes envy the students in our school for the kind of education they have access to. While I am wistful about a few things I think should be better, compared to my public high school education, our school does a far better job of preparing students to contribute positively to church and community life than my high school did. This is not all that we aim for, of course, since we hope our students make a good contribution in the wider world as well. I'm confident that base is covered reasonably well, at least as well as it can be with the resources and personnel we have.
Graduates from here are currently living and working in China, Bangladesh, Sudan, and New York City, and others are volunteering a year or more of their lives in caring for the elderly or the handicapped. Many are teaching in Christian schools. In the past, there have been graduates in El Salvador, Paraguay, France, Belgium, Egypt, Syria, West Bank, Armenia, England, and Kenya. Some have attended Ivy League schools, and others have pursued graduate degrees.
Perhaps the greatest gift we who "live" together at school can give each other is to cultivate an atmosphere of trustworthiness and good will. I can't say enough about how much this helps to create a good learning environment. Then, when gifted teachers like Lyle come along, everyone is poised to get the full benefit from what such a teacher can offer. In the absence of such an atmosphere, even the most gifted teachers and students struggle to remain hopeful and engaged.
During my time at Pilgrim, I have been blessed to work with Harry, Wendell, Andrew, and now, Wesley and, less directly, Paul and Lyle--all of them blessed with great good gifts. What a pleasure!
And the students. . . . Right now we're just having a good time together. But some day, some adult will list them among the gifted colleagues they are privileged to work with. And someone will list all the ways and places these people are serving and making a good contribution. I hope I live to see that.
posted by Mrs. I at
5:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home