School Story

Since last Sunday I've wanted to write this story into my blog...

I have a student you HAVE to know about. At the beginning of the school year, our Superintendent said that we need to start "testifying" and telling the community our stories about the great things that happen in our classrooms.

Here is my story. 

I have a middle school trumpet player who has been in my band for three years now. I only teach seventh and eighth graders. You can pretty much read between the lines. Every single Christmas, for three consecutive years, I think about that child. I hope that his day is a good one, and I always say a special prayer for him. In fact, I think about him on all of the major holidays. I just worry about him... a lot. 

Anyway, I have told him on numerous occasions that I would take him as my own. He tells other teachers (and students) that I am his mother. When they ask me about it I smile and say "Yes". 

He is in my class of 60. Every single day, that class begins a little chaotically. Every single day, amidst all of the chaos, he comes up to me and asks if he can teach class that day. Even though I tell him no, I secretly think that he would be awesome. I'm planning on saying yes one day this spring... just to see what happens. 

He does not own his own instrument. He uses a school owned trumpet that is probably worth $75. Most of my other trumpet players play on instruments that are worth much, much, much more. He plays on a plastic mouthpiece that I purchased for him for $12 last year. He wrote me a letter in his keyboarding class this year. He told me that band was his favorite class and that he wanted to be a professional trumpet player when he grew up. I honestly think he might accomplish his goal. 

This past Saturday he auditioned for Region Band. Despite all of the things going against him (including the fact that I didn't know if anyone would be able to take him to the audition) he made the band. Not only that... he was 5th out of 156 trumpet players who auditioned for Junior Band. 

When I decided that I needed to stay home with Grayson on Monday I was sad that I wouldn't be able to share this child's great results from Region Band with him. I asked another teacher to tell him, and hoped that he would be as excited as I was for him. 

I went to school on Tuesday. As soon as I pulled into the parking lot, his bus was pulling in as well. He saw me as I was walking in and called out my name. I stopped and gave that child the biggest hug ever. I asked him if he was excited. He smiled from ear to ear. I told him that I was proud of him and he said, "Thank you!". 

Next Saturday, he auditions for All-State Band. If I can get him to the audition (it is 1.5 hours away), he just may make the band... all by playing on his $75 trumpet and $12 mouthpiece. Say a special prayer for him next week. This audition just may be the beginning of something great for him. 

Pearl Harbor Day 2011

Jason and I traveled to Hawaii last week to be with the high school band. Our band was invited to perform at the 70th Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor. December 7th was an absolutely amazing day and I wanted to be able to document it here.

It is important to say that the 70th Anniversary was a large one because the survivors are aging. The youngest are in their late 80s. Even the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association is disbanding at the end of December 2011, citing age and health of its directors.

I didn't really know what to expect... I didn't know what emotions I would feel or what the survivors would look like...

It was an incredible day. 

The phrase, "We Will Never Forget", now echos in my memory. 

We walked into the memorial to find thousands of people. Many in uniform, many in tears, and a proud few with "Pearl Harbor Survivor" written on their caps. For those few, you could tell that this event that happened 70 years ago was fresh on their minds. 

What I definitely didn't expect was for so many of the survivors to want to openly speak about that day to everyone. Jason and I had the opportunity to hear this man's story, as he looked out onto the harbor, and that is a moment I will never forget. 

Another Pearl Harbor Survivor

These men were survivors of the USS Utah. On December 7, 1941, their ship was attacked and actually sunk, flipping belly up in the harbor (where it still sits). On that day, 30 officers and 431 enlisted men survived the ship's loss; six officers and 52 enlisted men died.

The USS Arizona suffered the largest loss on December 7th, 1941. The explosion killed 1,177 of the 1,400 crewmen onboard, and though half were loss at the point of the explosion, the others died in the moments (and days) that followed from drowning and suffocation. 

I learned that many of the survivors from the USS Arizona have chosen to have their remains cremated and entombed back on the sunken ship with their crewmen. One Arizona survivor died just a few weeks ago. His entombment back onto the USS Arizona occurred on December 7th, 2011. 

The USS Oklahoma also experienced a great loss on December 7, 1941. On that date, 429 men loss their lives. The memorial is breathtaking.  

It was our great privilege to be able to perform for this incredible event. 

If you've ever wondered why schools would approve the absence of students who travel to Hawaii you'd just need to look in the eyes  of the students we traveled with after they experienced Pearl Harbor Day 2011. 

Pearl Harbor is now something they will never forget.