Singing Connections — An Opportunity To Discuss
Singing Connections
In 2015 I was Commissioned by Services For Education Music Services to write a collection of songs. The wider project was called Singing Connections and was intended to use singing in schools as a way of supporting numeracy, literacy and school ethos. My songs were to support school ethos.
I loved working for the project and wrote twelve new songs based on the six clusters of Moral and Spiritual Dispositions in the Agreed Syllabus for Education in Birmingham.
These themes are based on the shared beliefs and values of many of our main faiths. They are intended to show what we share in our humanity and how we can contribute positively to the communities around us and the people we share lives with. It was a privilege to work closely with this syllabus and write songs that tried to capture these values in a way that would motivate, stimulate and encourage children of primary school age.
Not Just Songs
I hoped that the songs would be engaging and enjoyable to sing, which, I am glad to say, they seem to be. However, I don’t think I had realised the potential for discussion with the children when teaching the songs.
Yesterday I found myself having a wonderful discussion about courage when teaching the song “Stand Up!”
We talked together about the lyrics — what does it mean to be brave? Does it mean you’re not afraid of things any more or can you be afraid and still have courage? What does it mean to ‘stand up’ for those things that are important? The children responded with thoughtful and interesting answers.
Privilege
I felt very privileged to have this opportunity and to facilitate such a conversation. I know this has been the role of teachers through the ages and will continue to be so. I hope I can continue to write and use songs that so easily lend themselves to opening up these opportunities.
