Partnership Educators,
Father Moore had a crisis on his hands. It was hours away from his Christmas service and already something was wrong. You see hungry church mice had nibbled the organ's bellows and so the organ made no sound. A repair was out of the question.
This was Father Moores first parish and he was desperate for a solution. The young organist, Franz, mentioned, half-heartedly, that he could play guitar, in which Father Moore frowned. He had a magnificent service in mind and that vision would be diminished without the magnificence of the organ. Maybe Father Moore thought if Franz wanted to write new music for the service which would be especially suited for the guitar. So the two devised that Franz would quickly write guitar music for the coming service. Upon his return to the church, Father Moore handed the young musician a poem. Three verses and the Father said he had written it himself the day before.
Before I finish the story and as we move off next week to some time with family and friends, I wish a very merry break for all. As we build our own stories that make up our lives, I would like to express a heartfelt desire for your time off to be both fulfilling and restful. I find inspiration in what I see in our students when I visit the schools.
Back to our story. The young guitarist began scoring for cords and finding meaning with the music around the words that were written on the paper. It was exhilarating. The nuances of the simple verse flowed off the page and he was pleased with the result. He finished the score of this new music as the choir began to arrive and so copies were made and maybe there would be time for a short rehearsal. But alas they did not have time to rehearse and so they would have to perform it cold.
What you are reading is a story that took place in a small village in Bavaria in 1818. The small parish, with candlelight flickering, listened to the choir perform a new Christmas song in awe. Because hungry mice had hushed their church organ the music for the service had been rushed but yet the spontaneous creation had unleashed a musical power. You know this song as "Silent Night"
Thank you for setting a purpose for what we teach by connecting with the kids and finding out what makes them tick. Thanks for helping them learn the nuances of what they are learning in order to deepen their understanding to help them spontaneously create. We know that purpose doesn't happen all at once. No, it happens over time as we learn more and more about a topic of interest. Sometimes people aren't even interested in a topic and then as they learn the small details about it, as they become curious just a bit, the interest builds until they make a connection and purpose is born. When Students are animated by a larger purpose, they have more academic motivation, vocational success, identity formation within themselves, and more life satisfaction. Thank you for purpose filled goals that you have towards the building of purpose for your students.
Enjoy your time off,
Rob