A lovely older teacher who sometimes casuals at my school approached me during our fortnightly whole-school assembly on Friday morning.
After a bit of chat about students he'd observed with musical talent (to soften up his target, no doubt) he got to the point.
"Why don't you start up a school band?"
By the end of the morning it was in the works. Stage 3 AP believes it's viable, it was David's idea, so of course he believes in it, and I would so dearly like to see this happen. Thank God for people of action and vigour; how I love them!
As much as the others are convicted of its inevitable future success, my confidence at being able to co-ordinate such a group has not been growing. But yes, I do believe in student ownership, trusting responsible students with natural leadership qualities, and for every child to learn and love music. It's funny the way separate and distinct messages relating to the same idea make their way into your life. This afternoon, I flipped channels and discovered the BBC documentary Soweto Strings about Rosemary Nalden's Buskaid and the wealth of musical talent in the depths of gritty urban South Africa. Timely. To paraphrase Rosemary from the documentary (probably grossly inaccurate, but I hope you grasp the meaning):
My purpose is to teach them
that they should not aim
for anything less
than anyone else.
Time to speak with those in the know, research, plan and prepare!
