That being said, let's all make a community Calm Down Cake and share it with our sisters and brothers who are FREAKING OUT that their students are missing concerts because of other events that have been programmed into their lives.
Our students are spread thin and have incredibly programmed lives. No one understands that more than an extra-curricular teacher who is attempting to put together a performance under a deluge of emails about baseball games, undefeated teams, first string pitchers, gymnastics trials, dance recitals, etc...
Many of my elementary music sisters and brothers hold a lot of tension and stringent rules about having students attend evening performances in order to gain admittance to a special trip or certificate. Advocate like the dickens for your program. Walk uphill in the snow both ways until people understand that you're not just a conference period. Shout about the greatness of your programs from the rooftop of your school so your entire community will begin to understand how great it is to have fine arts in the elementary setting--I'll bring you an umbrella and join my voice with yours!
I had a concert this month where I was missing 20 students--20 STUDENTS! I briefly thought about completely losing my mind and taking away their opportunities that would come if they attended the evening concert.
And then I thought about their faces. I thought about how they love to talk about baseball and love their friends. About how dance has given them the agility to walk AND carry their lunch tray in the cafeteria without dropping it in front of their friends, even though their feet are growing overnight. About how they only have one other extra-curricular activity outside of choir and it's gymnastics. And how unfortunate it was that all of these recitals, meets, and rescheduled baseball games just happened to be on the night of the concert.
And I took a breath.
And I ate a slice of Calm Down Cake.
And I said "Good luck!" "Let me know how your meet goes!" "Wish I could come and cheer you on!!" "I bet you're going to be amazing!!" and my favorite: "I can't wait to hear all about it!!"
They did the baseball. They did the gymnastics. They did the boy scouts. They did the dance recitals.
And they also did our choir trip the following weekend.
Because Calm Down Cake is delicious, and children are a gift, and our time together is too short for grumpy grown-ups to snuff out their flames of excitement.
#jwepride