Yesterday I went with my daughter's Middle School chorus to a choral festival. Each of the three schools in the district sang 2-3 songs and the judges scored their performances. The hosting High School choirs also sang a few numbers.
This experience took me 'way back to the last time I remember being at a middle school adjudication. That was in Pasadena, Texas in the late 1960's. I remember wearing the chorus "uniform" of an A-line skirt and jacket in spring green with a light yellow blouse. Those were our school colors, light green and yellow. Just comparing how the kids dressed then compared to how they "almost" dress now pretty much made my stomach turn over. That and the cell phones.
Funny how back then, even in middle school, I felt like going to school was a privilege. I guess because I was in accelerated classes, I was grouped with kids who shared my love of learning. We were pretty competitive, but just doing school related tasks. Guess we were just a group of nerds. I remember enjoying school. I especially loved my art and music classes. We had a pretty large middle school chorus, too, probably near 100 students. Music, band, chorus and orchestra were big in Texas schools.
My daughter teaches at a Title 1 school where many of the students are from refugee families. Not only do they come from different cultures and speak other languages in their homes, many of their parents had very little if any formal schooling. Her students struggle and hardly get any support from home.
The adjudicators were very generous and took some time to work with her students. First, they talked a bit about how to overcome stage fright. Then they worked on posture, breath, matching pitches and rhythm. They knew that my daughter had already worked with them on these very things, so they had to be careful not to make it seem like she wasn't doing her job. The things they said to build her up were very nice, too. They even wondered if she acted and sang professionally on the stage. That really helped Cami feel better, too.
These two judges were very good at always building up not tearing down. It takes a special person to walk that fine line!
Funny how back then, even in middle school, I felt like going to school was a privilege. I guess because I was in accelerated classes, I was grouped with kids who shared my love of learning. We were pretty competitive, but just doing school related tasks. Guess we were just a group of nerds. I remember enjoying school. I especially loved my art and music classes. We had a pretty large middle school chorus, too, probably near 100 students. Music, band, chorus and orchestra were big in Texas schools.
My daughter teaches at a Title 1 school where many of the students are from refugee families. Not only do they come from different cultures and speak other languages in their homes, many of their parents had very little if any formal schooling. Her students struggle and hardly get any support from home.
The adjudicators were very generous and took some time to work with her students. First, they talked a bit about how to overcome stage fright. Then they worked on posture, breath, matching pitches and rhythm. They knew that my daughter had already worked with them on these very things, so they had to be careful not to make it seem like she wasn't doing her job. The things they said to build her up were very nice, too. They even wondered if she acted and sang professionally on the stage. That really helped Cami feel better, too.
These two judges were very good at always building up not tearing down. It takes a special person to walk that fine line!
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