Some of you may recognise these wise words and I will share more inspiration from the author in my end of year speech, but this week, whilst reflecting on the school year – coming rapidly to an exciting end – they rang particularly true for me.
One of the many highlights of this year has been the music concerts where we have been entertained and inspired by the performances and progress of our children. The number of children learning a musical instrument is wonderful to see, and the variety of genres and progress every child makes through their curriculum music lessons are a major credit to Mrs Lane and her leadership and passion of this subject. The standard of performance is genuinely impressive across every year group, and I love seeing how much they progress term on term and year on year. I would also like to say a huge thank you to the support Mrs Abbott provides for our musicians and all our peripatetic music teachers who work so hard over the year.
Musicality is important, but so too is the act of getting up on that stage in the first place, for giving it a go regardless of where you are on your musical journey. I know the audiences this year have enjoyed every performance on their own merit, and I love that each journey, each achievement is just as worthy as the next. I find it incredibly inspirational when I watch our children give something a go, particularly for the first time. When they manage their emotions and nerves, when they step out of their comfort zone, when they show real bravery! We help our children develop resilience – to keep going in adversity and learn from their mistakes – but it takes bravery to try something new to begin this learning journey!
Bravery is a very important quality and far from easy to develop. It comes and goes and there are huge numbers of variables in how each of us feel about scenarios that require us to be brave. Children are more inclined to be brave when they feel safe, when their self-esteem is good and when they know they are surrounded by friends and people that love them and want them to succeed. Bravery comes from trying new things, over and over until the prospect of something new feels less daunting, practice might not make perfection, but it certainly builds confidence.
At BPS we are immensely proud of how brave our children are. How open they are to trying new things. Our job as teachers is to provide these opportunities, give the support and guidance to help and encouragement to try again. There are moments in life when we would rather not have to be brave – we rarely get to make this choice – which is why this quality can be nurtured and developed in multiple ways during the formative years and it might just start with that first piano performance!
