Hard to believe that it is almost the end of the spring term. Well, that’s partly because we haven’t really had a spring, and partly because for the past four months I have incredibly busy relocating from a busy inner city base to a small country town. The autumn term and Christmas holidays flew past in a blur of filling, emptying and sorting the boxes of books and music that had become a vast library. And I’m still facing months of working my way through separating what is essential to keep from what is too dog-eared to use any longer.
Stuffed in between piles of music I keep finding little ‘treasures’ – pictures created by pupils. Today I found this drawing of a violin, done more than a decade ago by a little boy who was having trouble fitting in at school. To my surprise, on more than one occasion I was actively challenged by members of staff who could not understand why I selected this ‘troublemaker’ for my string group. (“The other parents won’t like it,” was the general gist.) Actually the reason I ‘selected’ him was that he selected himself, turning up to the class with the correct piece of paper, signed by his Mum, because he wanted to play the violin.
Stuffed in between piles of music I keep finding little ‘treasures’ – pictures created by pupils. Today I found this drawing of a violin, done more than a decade ago by a little boy who was having trouble fitting in at school. To my surprise, on more than one occasion I was actively challenged by members of staff who could not understand why I selected this ‘troublemaker’ for my string group. (“The other parents won’t like it,” was the general gist.) Actually the reason I ‘selected’ him was that he selected himself, turning up to the class with the correct piece of paper, signed by his Mum, because he wanted to play the violin.
Three years later he was one of the stars of the final concert given by the group before they headed off to secondary school, scattered by the four winds to different edges of the city. Although some of the children became absorbed into new groups and carried on with music into teenage years, this boy’s family moved away, and I never saw him again. I remember that he usually drew cars, and this violin looks as though it might enjoy having wheels fitted, so it could take to the road!