The Year the Veterans' Day Program Turned My Week Around

On Thursday, I posted this to Facebook:

Yesterday, during our final Veterans' Program rehearsal, I had a tough time getting through my beautiful, diverse group of students singing, "Open our ears that we may hear, where there is hate, there will be fear . . ." and "God bless America, land that I love . . . "

I've decided to look at it this way. Today, we're singing for those people throughout the centuries who have kept our country safe and free.

My students, many of them refugees and immigrants, will also sing during this program, "Where there is love, there will peace." That's what we'll focus on . . .

I'm not going to lie. I kept thinking about that scene in The Sound of Music where Captain von Trapp begins to sing "Edelweiss" at the music festival, and he breaks down mid-song, and the music has to be rescued by Maria and his children. Yes, he was fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria that night, but he was also mourning the fragility and breakdown of the country he loved.

This year, I, too, felt conflicted about celebrating my homeland.

As is always the case, music saved me. It felt good to come together with my students, school, and community through this universal language and give a little something back to those who have served and protected us.

If you need some joy in your life this week, here you go . . .

One little girl decided to belt out all of the songs at least a fifth above (translation: much higher than) all of the other kids during the afternoon program.

One third grade boy, who arrived in this country last year, knew every word to every patriotic song and sang so enthusiastically that he conducted most of the music with me.

I heard several stories, after the fact, of certain fifth and sixth graders (a.k.a. cool boys!) in the morning audience mouthing the words of the songs with us.

The day after the program, I asked the classes to reflect on and write down one thing they liked, one thing they learned, and to compliment at least one other person. Several students said they learned, "veterans are very important to our country, and they keep us safe."

I also asked them to assess their individual performances, and they gave themselves the best score possible. Trust me, my kiddos don't have over-inflated egos. What this did tell me is that they felt proud of their performance and of their contribution to the community.

In the end, I guess I loved watching the kids sing from their hearts and share their love of music with their families and the veterans in our audience.

I don't care what side of the spectrum you fall on. You can't argue with the beauty in that.

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