Finding Joy

Liberty Common students, parents, and staff are finding joy in the doing. I was nudged by a parent recently who honestly and respectfully asked, “Do you think there is enough joy in the students' days, alongside the academic rigor?” A valid question, and one I asked myself numerous times while homeschooling my own five children and upon sending them to Liberty for their high-school years, as well. After receiving that question via email, I strapped on my radio and took to the halls and classrooms of our building looking for one thing: Joy. 

 

Guess what. I found it. 

 

The ways of the world have taught me people find what they are looking for. On this beautiful late February day, I looked for joy and I found joy everywhere I looked. The fifth graders got to eat lunch outside for the first time since the fall thanks to unseasonably warm weather. I popped my head out to see them engaged in conversation, laughing, and soaking in the warmth of the spring-like day. The students on the playground ran and giggled and laughed. Small knots of students stood heads together telling jokes or secrets. Some hugged and some slapped one another on the back. The soccer ball bounced back and forth on the field amidst cheering and jeering and all the chaos of an un-officiated game with vague, ever-changing rules.

 

On my way back in I passed a line of kindergarteners donning their "Liberty 5s" and holding a bubble in their mouths and almost silently making their way to physical education. Their eyes grew bigger as I passed, and they frantically waved their "Liberty 5s" at me. One even abandoned her "Liberty 5" completely to hug me in the hallway. I happily reciprocated. Joy.

 

As I later wended my way upstairs, I passed by the Library where Aristotle’s librarian, Mrs. Hockel, was having a poetry tea party with a class full of sixth graders who were sipping from beautiful teacups and listening to teachers read favorite poems aloud to them. More than one face had a smile, and more than one pinky was demonstrably up in the air.

 

Later in the day, I was invited by an eager first grader in Mrs. Campora’s class to have some hot cocoa at their cocoa party which was a reward for filling their jar with stars for good behavior above and beyond what is already expected. They, too, were taking advantage of the beautiful weather and drinking their marshmallow-laden cups of goodness while giggling and whispering on the red picnic tables. They were so proud and excited to see me and share why they had this special privilege. They were delighted with their own good behavior - a wonderful thing to see. 

 

Just before the end-of-day bell I glided into Mrs. Balfour’s 6th-grade class while its students were discussing The Lost Prince in literature, and was legitimately moved by the quality of the conversation. Everyone was focused and excited to share their thoughts and opinions. They smiled, nodded heads in agreement, disagreed with grace, and seemed to be legitimately loving learning. Mrs. Balfour asked beautiful questions of the Socratic sort which kept the conversation moving along. There was joking, smiling, good-natured teasing, and encouragement all wrapped up into one delightful lesson. Just as the bard said, joy’s soul was evident in the doing.

 

I saw other things, as well. A lunch detention, two bloody noses, a student worried about her spelling test, and a student in the hall outside art class because he wasn’t following instructions inside art class. Those things happen at schools, too. It would be disingenuous to act as though school days are full solely of glitter and unicorns; but, it is likewise disingenuous to act as though the days are devoid of lots of little miraculous twinklings of joy. The hard work of learning pays off in the end, and the process is also full of joyous moments embedded in the hard. Doing hard things is the soil from which joy sprouts. 

 

Not to be outdone by our students, I was recently blessed to attend a phenomenal concert (picture nearby) with my esteemed music colleagues and friends, Mrs. Jill Dollar (Aristotle band) and Mr. Andrew Wallace (Jr. High and HS Choir/Music Theater). Despite it being a ridiculously busy weekend—Mrs. Dollar and I had the Aristotle musical and Mr. Wallace was coming from a gig in Boulder—we committed ourselves to make it down to Denver to see the Colorado Symphony and Choir perform Carl Orff’s stirring Carmina Burana. It was nothing short of magical—well worth the time and inconvenience—as so much of life is. We chatted about musical things and non-musical things and reminded ourselves we work with some pretty special people who help make us better people. Joy.

 

As we enter the final five bustling weeks of the 2024-2025 academic year here at Liberty, seek joy. It is all around us. Remember, the magic is often in the doing of hard things.