My mother is an elementary school music teacher. I went with her to the middle and high schools' Christmas Choir Concert. She taught nearly all of the kids in those choirs. She knows their names, their families, and their stories. When the seventh grade choir was singing these three people behind me kept talking about how awful they sounded and how it was the worst thing they had ever heard.
I had a few things to say to them. First of all, they are in seventh grade - give them a break. Secondly, one girl is blind and cannot see the conductor's cues, one boy has down syndrome, one boy was severely physically handicapped, and another boy was autistic and clearly had stage anxiety. Thirdly, they were singing so loudly and having such a good time. You could see how much fun they were having! The boy with down syndrome would conduct and yell the words when he was excited. They were so much fun to watch.
It was, in fact, touching to experience their excitement about the Christmas season and their passion for singing. It was touching to feel my mother's love for those children she has taught and seen grow. I wish I would have turned around and said those things, but I sat and enjoyed those little voices instead.
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