I usually play music during class.
The other day my students were quietly working on a timed test.
As the chorus of the song came on, all of a sudden we had a little impromptu choir. Several students in my class of 30 started singing along as they speedily answered the problems before them. The other staff member in the room & I both had grins of surprise on our faces.
I tried to get the students to quiet down so they wouldn't be a distraction to others, but it wasn't too simple. So, I told them to be quiet & I had an idea I'd share once time was up.
The timer went off.
Ok, if you are really loud, I'll turn the volume up & open the door to the classroom next to us & you can serenade them.
The once full choir turned into a few brave (foolish?) souls, that ended up encouraging several students to join in this spontaneous plan.
I turned the volume up. I started the song over. We waited for the chorus. They sang. I opened the door...
A student from the other room quietly entered my classroom, cautiously assessing the situation. No one really understanding what was happening, we soon had that entire class of sophomores slowly file into the room & stand in the front while these freshmen performed from their seats.
As the chorus ended, it became embarrassingly clear that my students didn't know the verses. As they fumbled over the words, I apologized to our guests & assured them that next time we would practice. They quietly walked back through the door & returned to their class. The faces on many of these students communicated there confusion as to what just happened. As the last student left, the one who had been the first to come to the concert, he turned to me and said, I don't even know why I came in here...and then everyone followed me...
I thought it was a little odd that the teacher never popped in or said anything. Well, it turns out that he was around the corner working with a couple of other students at the time. We found out after class that he didn't realize his students took a 45 second field trip. Amazingly enough, none of his students mentioned it to him.
Maybe they were still trying to sort out what they had just experienced.
