Penguin performance
I won’t be going to my son’s Christmas concert tomorrow. Is it a crime? To all those well-meaning, school-policy-abiding parents, I guess it must be. Many a parent must have been chastised over the years by either child or spouse for not having managed to show up at the event. Meetings, overseas trips, office Xmas parties that just ran on an on. All (feeble) excuses. And here’s me, with no excuse; I can make it but I simply won’t. Here’s why…
My six-year old came home yesterday saying he had been shouted at by the music teacher for being out of line in one of the Xmas numbers they’re rehearsing. He got some of the hand-waving actions wrong too. He said he apologised to her, but then added that she was still brusque to him. He’s trying for god’s sake!
And isn’t the whole point of the kiddies’ Christmas carol concert to have some fun and project genuine seasonal warmth and cheer? Who cares if they aren’t rehearsed to music-teacher professional standards. I love to see kids all awry. Stragglers meandering around the stage; kids whose lip-reading mouths and actions are two seconds behind all the others’. Rehearsing kids for weeks, drilling them in the songs, and so on isn’t my idea of having fun. Which is all it should be.
The other issue I have is that a note came a week back saying the boys had to wear ‘smart trousers, a white shirt and a bow tie’. My son hasn’t got smart trousers or a white shirt (other than a Tee) and certainly has no use for a bow tie. So, I am supposed to go out and buy these items for him to wear for a mere 20 minutes, if that, on stage. Well, forget it. I am not going to. So if he were to go on the night, he’d be told off for not towing the clothing policy line.
My son quite happily gets through the year in jeans and joggers, trainers and Crocs. I don’t want him to have to wear penguin clothes for a long time, if ever. Why make mini adults of our kids? Or impose adult standards on them? And my son is quite outgoing, so I am not sure I can justify it all on the basis that he needs some practice on stage either.
So, there are my reasons. We’ll have a nice cosy night at home, make some more mince pies, put on some carols and sing along to them relaxing in our family home. And have some fun!
Dear Lizzie,
I just read your comment and I totally agree with you. I would have reacted just the way you did. It is a pity times haven’t changed for the sake of making children feel well and have fin as you say, but it seems like the teachers want to show off. Maybe this has to do with the fact that you pay for the school and parents want to see some results.
I hope you enjoyed the evening at home having “glühwein ” or something similar.
I am constantly invited to join similar events my grandchildren are part of, but thank god I don’t have to go there – i had enpug of that when my kids were small and secondly, they go to a different nursery school where the well -being of the kids is most important.
Conny