I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful man one day at our school. He had been invited to share his talents. He teaches music at our local college. It became apparent to me very quickly that another of his gifts is that he can communicate the bigger picture of music.
As we shook hands he was excited to find out that I teach science. We talked about analogies between our lines of work. He saw his mission to help prepare his students for positions with large orchestras. Yet, that was not the main goal. He wanted his students to not just play the music – but to do something with the music. They worked with building instruments. He had them investigate new ways to control the instruments to allow them to play them in unique ways and bring out the tones. His students learned not just to play the music but to understand where it came from, how it was created, and its context in life.

What has amazed me about the retreats and youth conferences I’ve been involved with is how quickly the students see the big picture.

A favorite game is the beam. The goal is simple. Everyone has to get up and over a wooden beam positioned about 9 feet off the ground. Once a person is over the beam they cannot help lift anyone else. They still make sure everyone is safe by spotting but they are essentially “done the game”. It is important that everyone help each other for safety reasons. Most group realize quickly the practical problems that must be solved. Leave some stronger people for the end. But the strongest person is usually the largest. So, the last person has to be agile enough to be able to leap and get over the beam.

When its all over they usually stand back, take a look at the beam, and say, “That wasn’t so bad. What’s next?”
Individual’s react differently. One young man couldn’t stop smiling for hours. I caught another girl sneaking looks to the beam whenever we walked past it. I sensed what both were thinking. Neither boy nor girl believed they could do it. They were ready to “bow out” and let the rest of the class have fun. I’m not sure if it was a fear of heights, fear of their own strength, fear of self – image, fear of their personal disabilities getting in the way. I suppose it is just fear.
I can speak from experience. I’ve played the game with every class. But each time it is my turn I hesitantly step on some one’s hand, test my grip on another’s shoulder several times, and bounce up toward the beam. It is so much higher when you are standing beneath it.
I’m not a large man, but I probably weigh more than most of the high school kids. Standing below the beam I suddenly don’t trust their strength to get me up. I worry about my own ability to pull my own legs up and over. What if my grip fails? What if I fall?

Standing right next to the beam I lose sight of the bigger picture.

The bigger picture that there is a group – a strong group – stronger together than apart – ready to make sure I get over, safely, just like the person before me and the one after me. The ones that make it over easily see the big picture of this game and know how to do it. The ones who are scared only see parts.

This lesson has affected my teaching. And having met the music teacher, I have a new example. My students need to stand back and look at the picture of science. It is too easy to just jump from formula to fact throughout a year. I hope they can see that they are getting somewhere and growing from my course.

And that they are helping me to grow with each one them that I meet.