The end of the year is a time of reflection for me.  I pull out my lessons from this year; look through the red pen marks from my reflections after teaching the lessons; and then make a skeleton plan for next year.  I’m always excited for this end of the year reflection.  Every time I finish I’m filled with the excitement of knowing that next year will be better than this year.

 

As I was in the nitty-gritty of this process I received an email from a fifth grader saying he had written a speech for fifth grade graduation and asking if he could read it.  It reminded me why I do what I do, why I need to be better tomorrow than I am today, and why kids are awesome.  Had to share… Here it is:

 

Almost every time you take a car ride you enjoy the sounds of someone making music. When you go to a party you usually hear music being played. Almost every day of our lives we hear music which usually leads to us tapping our foot and then singing along and then music fills us with joy and one song changes our day and makes us happy.  Every teacher at Carpenter has taken a part in filling us with knowledge, five days a week. Every teacher was a big help but Mr. Cooper has probably left the biggest impression on me. He and music have taught me five things that I hope everyone here uses for the rest of their lives.

1             Music is a gift, being able to play an instrument is special and you should keep doing it, and sharing your gift for the rest of your lives.  Anytime you learn something special in your life do not forget it, keep it and be proud of yourself.

 

2            Writing any form of music will be a challenge, keep trying because it will become better. In life things will be hard but if you want to move on try again and reach for perfection.

 

3             A concert depends on your rehearsals; a perfect rehearsal usually leads to a good performance. But when a practice is not beneficial the performance is not as good, in life you need to prepare yourself before you can complete the task ahead of you.

 

4              In music you get to be very independent, you may write a song that you like that other people do not enjoy. In life do not let people bring you down by giving you their opinion.  Be the judge for you hold you head high and believe and enjoy what you want to enjoy.

 

5              While doing a musical project with a group, a partner, or your whole class you need to not only be good but making sure your group is doing okay. If just you do good you won’t sound as good as if you waited for your team and all worked together.  In life you will have to depend on others and others will depend on you, you need to make sure that everyone is on the same page if you want to succeed.

 

I hope that today and everyday of your life you will realize that music is a gift and that today and someday you should share it and pass on your knowledge to your kids, grandkids, friends, and family.

 
Thanks for the reminder, C.