Smiles All Round!

I was looking through my phone at the end of a very busy week, checking to see if I'd missed any important messages that needed a response. Thankfully I hadn't, but while I was reflecting on all the different projects and children I'd been working with, I was moved to send a message to the mother of a child I've been teaching regularly for the last year, once a week, in small group African drumming sessions at his primary school.

"Just thought I'd like to tell you what a great student Liam has become in African drumming this year.  His attitude to learning has vastly improved, he's not so hard on himself, and is absolutely a STAR supporting young Isaac in the group.  I'm very proud of him."

Shortly after sending the text, the response came back.

"Ah, thank you.  He is so chuffed.  He is struggling with his own self belief at the moment, as he is below his friends academically, and being tested for dyslexia.  Your text has made my day.  I've just told Liam, and he now has a big smile on his face getting into bed."

The back-story is that Liam first came to me in Year 5 as an enthusiastic, lively boy, who got extremely angry and sometimes upset if he didn't grasp a rhythm immediately, especially as there was another boy in his group who was very quick at picking up new rhythms.  Initially I struggled with Liam, not knowing anything of his background.  I was frustrated that such a young child could be so angry. 

A clue came one day, when I asked who would be coming to watch their performance in Celebration Assembly.  Proudly they all listed Mums, Dads, siblings, grandparents.  Liam became more withdrawn, angry and tearful.  It became clear that his Dad had abandoned him, he never sees him, and it is obviously a great problem for him emotionally, and has a great effect on how he sees his own self-worth.

In my role as a peripatetic teacher (which only takes up one day a week) I realised there is so much I don't know about the children with whom I work, and this incident was a real eye-opener for me.  I was empowered to change the way I work, focusing as much on the emotional development of my students as on making brilliant drumming music.  As a freelancer I'm not bound by syllabus, exam results, or other constant pressures that teachers are under.  My lessons are often student-led, and we have a great deal of fun, which, to quote the mother of another pupil recently:

"It is so uplifting to imagine Callum and Jacob in their drum lesson with you.  I so agree with having fun - you absorb the learning before you realise.  I'm so glad you're able to continue teaching them at High School.  I feel it's amazing expression, and exercise of Callum's energy and twinkle, that I hope he keeps as he grows up and his routine schooling becomes more rigid and less expressive."

I guess the main point of this blog, for me, is to remind myself, and hopefully encourage others, to keep our own energy and twinkle, to have fun making music, to change the world for our students, and never lose sight of why we do what we do.  What a brilliant way to live and work!