Voices of Angels, Problems of Principals

They recommend asking one of the participants to start each day with a prayer. It seems like a simple enough suggestion, but as it plays out in reality, it is very different.

Were you to close your eyes during one of those “prayers” you find yourself transported to one of the great cathedrals of Europe or a concert hall in the US. You feel the rich baritones of the men complemented by the women’s soft sopranos. Then you hear the change as the women began to dominate in a gentle way and the male voices fade into the background. All of a sudden the choral voices would be silent as a single voice fills the room. The entire choir then joins in again and the series repeats, although the solitary voices change throughout. The harmonies blend, the melodies rise, and when you opened your eyes you find yourself back in a classroom with 40 African principals about to start the workshop.

And to think these teachers met for the first time when they came to the workshop. There were no rehearsals, no time to practice or arrange the harmonies. Somehow they manage these early morning concerts from within, communicating musically in a way I cannot understand.

Just a few minutes later discussions begin on problems these men and women face. The topics are familiar to all of us: lack of resources, teacher quality, student apathy or discipline, absenteeism, issues with parents. While the topics are similar, the scale surpasses what we experience. It is the scale of the problems they face that humbles you, and the determination of these principals to do better that inspires you. In a way, it is much like the inspiration that flows from that early morning prayer that transports you to the great cathedrals.