Why do we watch the conductor?

Tomorrow marks the end of my first week of student teaching and it has gone very well so far. Every day we are supposed to put an "essential question" on the board for the students to think about (and answer if we remember to bring it up). Today's question was "Why do we watch the conductor?". This question came about after all kinds of problems in every class with students not watching myself and my OSTE and therefor running into all kinds of problems throughout the music and making class a lot less fun as we got more and more frustrated with the students. It got me thinking though...

Why do we watch the conductor in music? To keep tempo, to see dynamics, for expression instructions... the list goes on. The conductor is the one leading the band, and supposedly they are the one that will always be there as a constant when things fall apart in the music. Kind of like God (don't tell any conductor that though!).

God is our conductor. He gives us our life's tempo, leads us in our expressions and dynamics. When things get tough and start to fall apart, we run to God asking and praying for help in various forms. But just like any band (especially excited middle schoolers), we get full of ourselves and our abilities and we tend to take our eyes off of the conductor, putting our focus on ourselves, all too often. Maybe we just figured out a problem/ rhythm on our own, or found our pure tone and niche... but is it really on our own?

The conductor may not always be right there to fix every problem (or so it seems), but they give us the tools to do so from day one. The last two days I have been providing the very basic tools to my 6th graders as I teach basic music theory. "This is a staff, this is a treble clef, this is a quarter note..." By teaching this to my students, I am providing them with the tools they need to work out complicated parts later on when we move on to harder music. They may not think of these first few days as being the source of the solutions, but how often do we think back to that time on the cross or the afternoon on the hillside with thousands of hungry people as the solution to our problems?

So, why do we watch the conductor? Because God is the source of life- he leads us through the troubled times, even putting down the baton and clapping out the tempo for the times when we can't see but maybe we can hear. He helps us to learn how to express ourselves and our love, he leads us through the dynamic ups and downs of life, celebrating with us when it is done correctly and we are excited, and working with us when it isn't quite right.

The best part about OUR conductor? If we can't always watch, he is always there beating in tempo with our lives waiting for our eyes and ready to assist as soon as we need it.

Just some random thoughts...

1) Today is going to be absolutely amazing.

2) I am more than excited about student teaching.

3) As I start preparing my presentation about Pilgrimage, I can't help but feel like I am still lost and still missing something.

4) I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.

5) It is almost time for me to actually be an adult and that is somewhat terrifying.

6) A year from now, I will be in Richmond probably studying Greek.