Surrey Homes | SH50 | December 2018 | Health & Beauty supplement inside

Education
Hark, the little angels sing
Hilary Wilce celebrates school Christmas traditions – and everything they teach our children
Christmas is coming, with all its midwinter sparkle
and cheer. It’s not unknown for parents to feel
a little frazzled right now as they contemplate
their present lists, family budget and the politics of
who will visit who on Christmas Day, but there is a
fabulous and foolproof antidote to festive overload
and that is any school’s Christmas celebration.
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a traditional nativity play,
a carol service, or a more multicultural smorgasbord. The
magic is in the sparkle in the children’s eyes, the home-made
costumes, the enthusiastic piano playing, the breathless
declamations and the hearty, if not always tuneful singing.
And while the festive season outside the school gates
seems to be increasingly about getting and spending,
most schools do a very good job of fostering a Christmas
atmosphere that celebrates the more important things of life.
Schools bring children together through songs and drama,
encourage them to think about those less fortunate than
themselves and introduce them to religious ideas that can help
them start to think about the big questions of being human.
And while ‘normal’ lessons often get hijacked, think
what those preparations are teaching pupils. Children are
learning that to decorate a classroom you have to plan
and prepare, make your decorations, and work together to
put them up – practical project management in action!
They are learning that to put on a successful Christmas
concert, everyone has to go on a journey that starts with being
introduced to an unknown piece of music, goes through all
kinds of dips and troughs when it seems as if no-one will ever
be able to master either the tune or the timing, but ends up
in a successful sing-out for an audience of family and friends.
Christmas is a perfect example of how schools are
always busy doing so much more than just teaching
maths, English and other basic subjects.
Through the annual rhythms of the school year they
help their pupils see the importance of structure and
effort. They encourage team work and partnerships
and show them how to find their place in a community
of people that is bigger and more complicated than
home - but still a safe place full of familiar adults where
mistakes can be made, successes applauded, festivals
celebrated, and where everyone gets to play a part.
Sometimes, of course, schools aren’t always such
constructive places, and as a parent you might be struggling
with a classroom situation that is making your child
unhappy. In which case, you might not be feeling much
Christmas love for your child’s school right now.
But even the difficult patches of school life can offer
important learning to children and most young people
will leave school with the kind of good memories that are
very likely to include Christmas jumper day, or singing
‘Little Donkey’ in the Christmas concert, or the picture
of Mr Edwards, the school caretaker, playing Santa with
such gusto that his ho, ho, hos blew his beard off.
So mark your diary, put your phone away, cram
your pockets with emergency tissues, and prepare
to wallow in the true joy and purity of Christmas
– as brought to you by children everywhere.
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