pride

The highlight today was the visible pride on the faces of each student in the class that I have the privilege of working with every Wednesday. I showed them a slide show (which they kept referring to as "the video") that I'd prepared using the photos I've taken of them and their work over the past two months. The photos show them presenting their work, discussing their ideas, debating, laughing, listening, watching. The images are rich. I put the show together to show them how impressed I am with their work and with the developments they've made in the realm of visual arts and communication. I wanted to encourage them for the last leg of our journey together on the Living Inquiry project. They got it. I'd braced myself for adolescent peanut gallery comments about their classmates, but instead heard them affirm eachother and saw them smile and laugh with pride when they saw themselves on screen. They were clearly delighted and affirmed. It was so satisfying to see that. They burst into applause after every showing (we saw it three times, at their request), as much for themselves as to thank me for the show. They also applauded when I read out the lyrics to the chorus of the song I'd chosen to accompany the slide show. It was "Time of Your Song" by American Hassidic Jewish Reggae musician/singer Matisyahu (my current fave), and I read the lyrics in my best Jamaican accent for the fun of it. Really, there was SO much good feeling in the classroom today. Truly beautiful.