Interesting Times!

Wednesday 26 November 2008

I received a gentle rebuke from my colleague Maggie Hartley who is Extended Schools & Services Cluster Coordinator for Beeston Hill & Holbeck...

"Dear Chris - I'm sorry that I wasn't able to say this yesterday but our server was down! - Thank you so much for coming to the concert on Monday - fitting it into your busy schedule - we really appreciated your support. I'm even more sorry that I implied that the concert "started your Monday" - I know that you probably had at least three other engagements first and I'm sorry that I didn't say that at the time! SORRY!!!

I must admit I was a little disappointed when reading your Blog - really excited to begin with but then felt that the children and their staff were a bit hard done-to!! I know ---- ten compliments NEVER outweigh one criticism as it's the criticism that the reader remembers!! Please remember that:- The group was originally set up to improve community cohesion across LS10 and LS11 and includes several children with Statements for their behaviour as well as learning needs. Some of them had been unable to even stand in a line for more than a few minutes when they first started practicing so the fact that they were able to remain in the group and sing is real progress! One little girl with VERY special needs was standing on the front row, sang EVERY word and didn’t lose concentration at all - she brings £1 EVERY week to pay because she loves it SO much and she doesn’t want it to finish!! Through no fault of their own, the children arrived with no time to spare for a "Mental Build-up" with the choir leaders (who they only meet once a week as they are from 11 different schools).

If you set endorphins flowing in a group of challenging children then excitement and talkativeness is likely to ensue - ESPECIALLY if the choir leader hasn't given them their "pep-talk" to start with! The children and their staff have been giving up their time freely from 3.15 to 4.45pm on a Tuesday since half term to learn these songs - as they aren't from one school where they can practice together they have to concentrate hard for that time to get it right and their attendance has been exceptional. Yes I agree that some of them could have been more attentive but from where I was sitting I could see all their faces and I think I might have been more inclined to tell them that they were FABULOUS - and that they will be EVEN MORE fabulous when they remember to stand still and silently. Sally spoke to them in this way after the performance and that made them think about their behaviour – they were mostly wonderful during their final yesterday evening!!

Having watched Jean and Roy mould this group of over 120 children with the undivided support of the 15 or 16 staff who attend every week AND seen the progress that they have made in such a short time, I am exceedingly impressed and was not disappointed with them - nothing that a "nagging" from Jean and Roy won't cure!!! The children plan to surprise you on Tuesday so BE PREPARED to be amazed!!! Thanks again for attending. Maggie"

Maggie's right of course, negative coaching never works. As I said in the original message the choir was in so many ways fabulous!
Chris

No comments:

Brilliant Quotes!

“I must accept life unconditionally. Most people ask for happiness on condition. Happiness can only be felt if you don't set any condition.”
Margaret Lee Runbeck

“Happiness is not in our circumstances but in ourselves. It is not something we see, like a rainbow, or feel, like the heat of a fire. Happiness is something we are.”
John B. Sheerin

“Most true happiness comes from one's inner life, from the disposition of the mind and soul. Admittedly, a good inner life is difficult to achieve, especially in these trying times. It takes reflection and contemplation and self-discipline.”
William L Shirer

“The pursuit of happiness is a most ridiculous phrase: If you pursue happiness you'll never find it.”
C.P. Snow

“Doubly rich is the man still boyish enough to play, laugh and sing as he carries and emanates sunshine along a friendly road.”
Charles R. Wiers

"Faith is not a shelter against difficulties, but belief in the face of all contradictions."
Paul Tournier

"Convictions are the mainsprings of action, the driving powers of life. What a man lives are his convictions."
Francis C. Kelley

"To do anything in this world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger; but jump in, and scramble through as well as we can."
Sydney Smith

"It is often just as sacred to laugh as it is to pray"
Charles R. Swindoll

"Things never go so well that one should have no fear; and never so ill that one should have no hope"
Turkish proverb

"Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself"
Chinese proverb

"Don't bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."
William Faulkner

"In times of change, learners will inherit the earth,while the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists"
Eric Hoffer

"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans."
John Lennon

"Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
Robert F. Kennedy

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
Mahatma Gandhi

"Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."
Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"There is nothing in life so difficult that it cannot be overcome. This faith can move mountains. It can change people. It can change the world."
Norman Vincent Peale

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein

"Life isn't measured by the number of breaths we take but the moments that take our breath away."
Anonymous

"Patience and perseverence have a magical affect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish."
John Quincy Adams

"Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and woman to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson