Public (and private) schools around the world often have students from a variety of cultures and countries. In the USA, the dominant nationality in those schools would be "American"--students born with all the rights and responsibilities of a US passport holder and resident. In Germany, I imagine the dominant nationality would be...German. "International schools" are the exception, and I teach in such a school. We have well over 200 students who hold passports for more than 40 different countries. We have students from every continent except Antarctica. (Someday, maybe :) )
Tonight was the night of the long-awaited Modern Classics concert. Except for a 6th grader who played a Bach prelude to open the evening, the entire performance belonged to the 18-member concert band. They played six pieces, from grade 2.5 to 4. (If you direct an amateur band or orchestra, those numbers have meaning for you.)
Membership in the concert band begins at grade 8. Tonight's band featured kids from the USA, Pakistan, South Korea, and our host country. Because our school has limited space, concert band is an after-school activity rather than a course for a grade. With sports teams, a spring drama, a choir, and several other after-school options, the concert band is limited to one 90-minute practice per week. There are only four seniors in the band. Musical instruments here are tremendously expensive; a "beginner" flute is about double the price one pays in the US, and renting an instrument is unheard of here. The school owns a few instruments, but many concert band members must share (everything except mouthpieces) with the 7th grade beginner band. Practice schedules are fun.
Many of our students are here for just a few years. Their parents have jobs with one of the giant aerospace companies, or have been sent by a government as diplomats and staff (with families) for a brief stint. Other students will probably be here until they graduate. Perhaps their parents teach at our school (1st trumpet, 2nd trombone and 2nd clarinet). Perhaps they were born to a family of hyphenated citizenship (1st baritone, the FIRST ever student from this country to be accepted into the AMIS International Honor Band). Perhaps their families have invested years living in this country to bring hope to a barren land.
Our school doesn't have a swimming pool. We don't have an auditorium for concerts, or a gym for basketball practice. We have hot lunches delivered every day (including McDonald's once every two weeks) and we just this week got our first lettermen jackets and official school t-shirts. Our teachers are qualified teachers who love to teach and who genuinely care about their students.
The reality is, though, that our students--the concert band kids, the drama kids, the soccer stars, the juggling-club kids, and the 4-year-olds who took a field trip to the dentist today--our students are the best kids in the world. They are from all over the world, will leave us to live all over the world, and if statistics are true, will probably spend some part of their adult lives in residence far away from their home countries. The best part of a school with the best kids in the world is that "home" for these kids is whatever place they are right now. No one's country is better than another's; no one fights with a classmate because their nations' armies can't get along. English is our common language (which the teachers appreciate) and the kids use it faithfully to communicate: in class, at lunch, and for hours each evening on Facebook.
A concert band is a collection of individuals, each playing an instrument. The rhythms are usually different from section to section. Percussion notation is very different from the melodies played on flute; the also sax music is transcribed in a different key from the music played on trombone. Once everyone is seated, the conductor raises the baton, and it all fits together. Some whole notes, played fortissimo; some staccato drum beats; a boom from the gong and a fanfare from the trumpets.
The best kids in the world are just like that. Some stay with us for years, resonating in our hearts. Others have our attention for just a short time before they fade away into memory. Together, they fill our school with laughter and learning and life. These kids may make the world a better place someday, and I'm thankful to be part of the audience.
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