Laughter
The students learn a lot from orchestra class, but sometimes their minds are on everything but orchestra.
Sometimes the only things on their minds are eating and sleeping.
K.K. “Can we have a nap day today?”
J.K. walks in the door and says, “I’m hungry.” I responded with, “J.K., when are you not hungry?” J.K. replied, “Um, when I’m sleeping?”
S.S. “I might not be able to come on Monday. But what about ice cream?”
H.J. “Pineapple….”
Me: “When you think about blessings from God, what comes to mind?” S.S.: “Sleep. Rest.”
H.J. walks in the door and asks, “Can we get coffee?”
S.S. “Starbucks!!!”
B.K. “There’s a Haagen-Dazs AND a Dunkin’ Donuts AND a Starbucks AND a Subway. It’s perfect!”
Earlier this week, I was passing out copies of a piece of music. Some of the pieces had copied onto yellow paper because the person who used the machine before I did had left it in there. The first two kids picked the yellow sheets of paper, but there was only white left for J.K.’s part.
J.K. “Aww, I got a white one? But I’m Asian!”
Love
We’ve also had some serious times in orchestra – somber discussions about the dark days of February, talks on how to discern God’s will for the future, plans on how we can put our 50 Euros to some kind of meaningful and positive use, discussions about the value of the elderly, and recognition of God’s creative work in our lives.
We visited the nursing home several times this year, and S.S. always complained that she didn’t like having to talk to the old people. The Monday before going to the nursing home, I took all the kids up to the staff kitchen at the beginning of class and gave them coffee. I normally do devotions every Monday, but since most of the kids have been having devotions all their lives, they don’t focus very well in devotions. This one was different, however. It must have been the coffee and the fact that we were sitting around a table instead of impatiently holding instruments, waiting to play. We talked about grandparents – I told them that I wished my grandparents were still alive because I would love to learn from them; I encouraged them not to take their grandparents for granted. I tied in Solomon’s wisdom – the way we gain wisdom is by learning from other people’s lives. Solomon, the wisest man ever, said that gray hair is a mark of honor.
I brought up the nursing home. S.S. said that she doesn’t like it because they talk to her and she doesn’t know what they’re saying. She can’t get wisdom from them if they’re muttering something she can’t understand.
I’m not sure if my response was correct, but I said something along these lines: “For them, it may feel important to share the wisdom they have in their minds. Just by respecting them enough to listen, you give them a gift. You let them impart the wisdom. They have so many life experiences locked inside their minds, and the least you can do is give them an opportunity to let them out so they can feel they are sharing what they have learned with the world.”
That Wednesday, we finished playing and started packing up. B.K. said, “Should we go talk to the people now?” We did, and we shook hands with them and greeted them. One lady told me (I think) that she enjoyed it and wished we played more music. Every single individual in that nursing home was greeted that day, most by 3 or more people. I have no idea what happened in their hearts that day. I also don’t know whether the kids were any different. It may have been my imagination, but they seemed less hesitant to greet the people.
Learning
We’ve been writing a piece in orchestra class, and we hadn’t come up with a good title. Last Tuesday, we played through the piece. I asked the kids, “Does it make you excited to play this piece you wrote?” They said that it did; they like that they can hear the melodies and harmonies they wrote. I continued, “I think that God sees us, His creation, the same way. He created us for a purpose, and when we do what we’re supposed to, He gets excited! You get excited when the notes you wrote sound good, and He gets excited when you do the things you’re made to do – whether it’s playing music, sleeping, relating to other people, running, doing math, etc. He loves to see His creation in action!”
After that, we started brainstorming a title for our composition. K.K. said, “Well, it’s like what you said. We could name it Creation. Or Genesis!” He went on to explain that it has even more significance – not only does it represent our own creative process, in its shape and form the piece is also much like the story of creation in Genesis. It starts with a single voice in the emptiness – a cello solo – and brings in the other parts. It becomes more and more full and complex, just as God filled the earth.
Wow. Such a cool connection and deep thoughts from my students! I never could have written that piece on my own, and I never would have come up with such a fitting title.
If all goes well, we will play that piece on the Spring Concert in 2 weeks, and I will hopefully be getting a video recording of “Genesis.”
God has brought so many blessings through this year, through trials and through fun times. He knows exactly what we need, and He is the perfect Teacher!
What a great story! Any chance you can send a recording of it? I would love to hear it. Or, better yet, send the parts? I’d love to have my kids play it, and it would have a lot of meaning since they will still remember you.