The Music of Freedom

Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in.

Robert Frost

Years ago, when I first started teaching high school English, I was also the school newspaper advisor. My journalism students tended to be bright, curious, and outspoken. But when I gave a random current events quiz on the first day of class, most of them had no idea who Utah’s current governor was, and some of them had never heard of Karl Malone! I was sort of appalled. Really? Kids who professed an interest in news, but didn’t bother to actually read it?

So I implemented a new policy. I started every journalism class with a simple five-question current events quiz. No trick questions. No obscure events. I got a lot of pushback, but once we spent 10 minutes every class period discussing what was going on in the world, students started to perk up.  After a few weeks, I’d regularly hear students talking about (and sometimes debating!) proposed school district policy changes or state legislation that affected kids, alongside critical high school info about who was dating whom and how the varsity football team was doing.

I was reminded of that yesterday when I attended a Jordan Education Foundation* Thank You Donors’ Luncheon. The room was packed—at least a couple hundred people—some of whom were BIG donors, but most of whom I’m guessing were like me and just donated a small amount monthly because they care about kids and education and Utah’s future.

It was a memorable program about how the Foundation uses donations to make life better for Jordan District students—from food and clothes to glasses or medical needs or beds–a surprising number of District families have been sleeping on their apartment floors–or mental health, and literally dozens of other individual needs that are outside the purview of a state-funded school system. But it wasn’t the generosity of the donors—which is always beyond impressive–that I will remember about that meeting: it was the Herriman High School Madrigals.

This elite musical group had just finished the holiday season with, if my memory is right, over 60 performances of music across a spectrum of venues—all volunteer hours on the part of high school students. Their conductor, Kelly DeHaan, is a well-respected Utah musician in his own right, and together, he and his outstanding students are the highlight of any program, but yesterday, it wasn’t only their performance that was moving: It was what they chose to sing: The Star-Spangled Banner, and My Country ‘Tis of Thee.

I’ve heard literally hundreds of madrigal groups perform in my many years of working in education, but as I listened to those two numbers, I was struck not only by the beauty of the performance but by the message of the music. Teenagers who chose to sing about patriotism. Teenagers.

Some days, when I scan the headlines on my computer or scroll through Instagram, I am so disheartened by the political, international, entertainment, lifestyle, and even many sports stories, that I close my computer and don’t bother reading. But yesterday, teenagers chose to sing about patriotism. It reminded me of those journalism students long ago, who looked up from their computers to discover that there was a whole world around them worth investigating.

When I was elected to the Jordan District Board of Education, one of my pleasures was to be invited to Veterans Day programs all over the district. I especially loved the elementary ones with kindergarteners singing Fifty, Nifty United States from 13 original colonies, and all those wiggly, cheerful little voices reminding me of the remarkable country where my family and I are privileged to live. If the headlines sometimes feel bleak, may I suggest spending a little time at a school concert? Way too many grownups in this country are making lousy choices, but kids? Kids still love this country. And they’re not afraid to sing about it. Everyday.

*If you are interested in donating to the Jordan Education Foundation, here’s the email address: jordaneducationfoundation.org. Every penny goes to making kids’ lives better. I know. I’ve worked with them for years.