Hello to all you Walton folks,
I was
excited as my time to blog rolled around. It made me think and reflect about
all of the responsibilities that are on us each and every day. As students, we had rules to follow and
lessons to learn. As that child in that
classroom, we began to believe that so many things we are learning were
irrelevant for anything other than to get through that one class. Then we grew up and oh my my.
I watch
day in and day out as my band students work together in large and small
settings. They are singing and counting. They are clapping and playing. They are using proper posture and hand
positions. But what they are really
using is their heart. With heads joined
together over a particularly difficult passage in a sheet of music, I wonder if
they are realizing the life skills they are learning. I wonder if they are thinking, “I will never
use this again in anything else I do."
My answer to myself is that they are thinking none of that.
What
they are thinking is how cool this music is going to be, and if I “play the
sunshine” it will be the most beautiful thing in the world. I hear the students that say, “I do not like
this piece of music,” yet work up to the bell to get it right because it is a
team effort. I watch as they leave no
one behind and come in at lunch to help a friend or an unfamiliar classmate do
a better job. Before you know it, they
wonder why they were not friends in the first place. I see them learning about cultures and
differences and how to accept. And
then…
...I hear
the music.
Not just from their
instruments but from their hearts.
You are welcome to come into the classroom any time. If you play an instrument, bring it along and
share in our sunshine.
Musically yours,
Peggy Haluska
No comments:
Post a Comment