community - Doubled Up

I would like to point anyone who is interested in children, (be they a teacher, governor, parent or none of the above) towards an article in the Daily Mail. Yes, I know, it surprised me too - I'm not a Daily Mail reader and I came across this when looking for something else. It calls for us all to take responsibility for young people today, to do everything we can to help them develop into responsible, happy adults. Sadly, as a society, we are failing them miserably, it says. It may slightly scare monger, but its heart is in the right place.

Yesterday we went to see my 9 year old nephew perform in his choir. Three primary schools had each been given a section of a musical to practise, then they had come together for two rehearsals before putting on a performance. It was fantastic.

Aside from enjoying the singing, I was equally impressed with the teamwork between schools. Firstly the bringing together of three schools for the performance, and secondly the fact that the local grammar school had allowed them full use of their facilities on a Saturday afternoon.

The performance took place in the main hall and was followed by a BBQ in the school grounds. Soon all the children (there were about 90) and most of their dads had taken over the football pitch and were playing the most chaotic game of football I have ever seen.

Meanwhile, the smaller children were feeding the school sheep with dandelion leaves and pumping water out of the well.

When we left, a breakaway group of teenagers were still enjoying the lovely weather and had music playing while they chatted amongst themselves.

The sense of community was immense and there was absolutely no sign that the older teenagers were drinking too much or that there would be any kind of trouble. No one who shouldn't have been there tried to crash the party and the school gates (and back door) remained open all afternoon. And this school is situated in the centre of a (admittedly not huge) town.

It is as if, without even trying, the Germans here had already successfully achieved what we are aiming to do with extended schools.

In my last blog I wrote about the music project In Harmony as announced by Andrew Adonis last week.

I really, really hope that the government does do what it promises – that is, to have truly inspirational teachers, to give children the opportunity to travel with their orchestras, to learn about hard work and teamwork and to enjoy the feeling of success that goes with a successful performance.

I read a little about the Venezuelan project and was particularly touched by the story of Legna Lacosta, as reported in the Independent on 17th August of last year.  At the age of 13, Legna was addicted to crack, dealing drugs and armed with a gun. At 17 he was arrested and put in a youth detention centre. He says that he was saved by the Youth Orchestras’ Project, when they visited his centre and showed him how to play a clarinet. He is now studying in Germany.

The Independent goes on to report that any child that enters one of El Sistema’s centres with a desire to work hard and learn an instrument will be given free tuition.

This got me thinking (dangerous, I know). I wonder if In Harmony could be combined with a variety of other initiatives – extended schools, for example – and whether we could have similar centres in deprived areas. And why stick just to music? It has long been acknowledged that sport can lift people out of poverty, why not offer anyone willing to work hard the opportunity to train, participate in a team and develop the vital life skills that a sport can offer?