Musical Missionaries
Spotted in a classroom in Davenport
WEBSTER CITY, IA - After visiting so many different schools over the last two months, the memories of each one have a tendency to bleed into one another. It's easy to fall into the habit occasionally of treating each new destination as "just another school." Even though the faces and names of the children change each day, certain things remain relatively constant from location to location.
The questions asked by the kids after our
performances tend to be pretty consistent. Among the most popular ones are, "How
did the wolf get up the chimney?" and "What's inside the library?" The ideas
that kids come up with during our workshop also have common threads from school
to school. When asked how they might change the story of
The Three Little
Pigs, it's never long before a child suggests
that, instead of the wolf wanting to eat the pigs, the pigs should pursue the
wolf. When asked what materials they would like the pigs to use for their
houses, kids never fail to list steel as an
option.
Amidst the rhythmic sameness of many of our school visits, it's easy for us to forget that the day is quite special for many of the kids. While we go to different schools all the time - usually two each day - these kids don't get visits from groups like us very often. Many teachers point out to us that we might be the only live entertainment of any sort that the kids will see all year. This is never clearer to us than on the occasions when kids ask us for our autographs after the show. We may sometimes feel numb from having done the show so many times, but it's always brand-new to every audience we encounter.
As the miles roll by during our travels, I sometimes wonder if any of these kids will remember our visit when they get older. I've always considered what we do to be "Musical Missionary" work. By this point, we've performed in front of thousands of kids. If we've helped spark a musical interest in just a handful of them, it's something of which we can all be proud.
Amidst the rhythmic sameness of many of our school visits, it's easy for us to forget that the day is quite special for many of the kids. While we go to different schools all the time - usually two each day - these kids don't get visits from groups like us very often. Many teachers point out to us that we might be the only live entertainment of any sort that the kids will see all year. This is never clearer to us than on the occasions when kids ask us for our autographs after the show. We may sometimes feel numb from having done the show so many times, but it's always brand-new to every audience we encounter.
As the miles roll by during our travels, I sometimes wonder if any of these kids will remember our visit when they get older. I've always considered what we do to be "Musical Missionary" work. By this point, we've performed in front of thousands of kids. If we've helped spark a musical interest in just a handful of them, it's something of which we can all be proud.
Posted: Wed - March 30, 2005 at 08:15 PM
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Published On: Mar 30, 2005 08:15 PM
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Published On: Mar 30, 2005 08:15 PM