Service Learning Project Summary

 

Project Title:  Singing Stars

Project Date:  Every Tuesday and Thursday of October and November 2004

Project Presenter:  Meghan Harris

 

I understand service learning projects to be organized activities centered on the students learning some idea and giving that idea back to the community.  During my time at SOS Hermann Gmeiner JSS, I recognized that the school’s musical instruction was lacking, particularly in the vocal music dimension.  I have had years of professional vocal training and have sung in the Central Michigan University choirs.  I know the effect that proper training has had on my voice and my overall enjoyment of singing, and I wanted to give the students some extensive training in vocal technique. 

 

The school also has Friday morning worship services in which a teacher conducts a sermon and the school prefects lead the school in some worship songs.  During these times of worship I felt very conflicted; what I have learned about worship through the time I spent volunteering in my worship ministry at home and as a ministry intern last summer is not what is practiced here.  In one moment we hear the students being yelled at to close their eyes and shut their mouths, and then the same teachers tell them to love one another.  The message is very conflicted, and I knew I also wanted to address this issue.

 

So, I decided to put together an after-school singing lessons program for the students in the Junior Secondary School.  I wanted to not only share some of the knowledge I have been lucky enough to attain about vocal technique with them, but wanted to help them see what worship is really all about.

 

I began meeting with about 20 students every Tuesday and Thursday, giving them vocal exercises to practice at home; I picked the exercises based on where the group of students seemed to be vocally.  I also taught the students a very familiar worship song from all over the world titled, “Here I am to Worship.”  Through the lyrics of the song I felt like I had an opportunity to not only help the students with vocal technique, but to teach them a bit about worship. 

 

After about 4 weeks, the students sang this song for their classmates at Friday morning worship.  WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!  The students were so excited to share this song with their classmates, and they did an outstanding job.  I have no doubts that they will use this song again in the future during worship, and the lyrics have definitely stuck with the students as I hear them singing this song around school.

 

What a rewarding sacrifice of time!