Working with Warrah Teens,
October 2002 - November 2003

Class Experience

The class sits in a half circle around Sam, a musician/teacher, who is facing them with a guitar in his hands. He begins by introducing a well-known folksong, with a simple, repeating verse. "This Little Light of Mine." 

This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
This little light of mine 
I'm gonna let it shine
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Sam asks, "where should we let the light shine?" 
Some students, of course, are more willing to talk right away. 
"Through the window," says one.
"Okay," says the teacher, "let's sing!"

I'm gonna let it shine 
Through the window
I'm gonna let it shine 
Through the window 
I'm gonna let it shine 
Through the window
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Students sing along, already feeling that they've written a verse to a song. 
"Where else should we let it shine," 
Students begin to speak freely… "Through the cat flap"
Teacher: "What?"
Student: "Through the cat flap, so the cat can come in." 
Teacher: "Okay, let's sing!"


I'm gonna let it shine 
So the cat can come in
I'm gonna let it shine 
So the cat can come in
I'm gonna let it shine 
So the cat can come in 
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine

Students are almost all singing along now and shouting out suggestions for verses. "Through the door!" "In my heart!" "So God can come in!" And the class sings them one after the other. This goes for five or ten minutes at the beginning of each class. Always returning to the verses we wrote the week before so that the students begin to feel that they've really written a song. 

 

Writing our first completely original songs

Class teachers, Liz and Sue, are sitting with the students in the half circle - two class teachers among the ten students. Their participation is crucial to the success of the following efforts. Sam at the front of the room with the guitar says, "what should we write our next song about?" Students don't necessarily answer such a question directly, but they might begin talking about something that's on their mind. Sam is taking notes. 

One student has been talking about boxing and boxers almost constantly, possibly for months or years even. It's an obsession for him. He knows a lot about the sport, the names of famous boxers, when they fought, who won, how much they weighed in at, etc. This boy is a six-foot tall teenager, growing quickly into a handsome young man. His motor skills and coordination are slightly impaired. Combined with adolescent growth and hormonal activity this accentuates his awkwardness. But the overall effect is more of an "individualized mannerism" than a spastic one. His self-image is complex, vacillating quickly from inadequate to acceptable to fantasy. Sue and Liz know the boy well, and through the following interchanges, Sam relies on their facial expressions, to gauge if he is on course. 

The boy asks, "Sam, Do you like boxing?" 
Sam: "It's okay, do you?"
Student: "Yea, my grandfather was a boxer."
Sam: "What is his name?" 
Student: "Cliff. Do you know Muhammad Ali?" 
Sam: "Yes."
Student: "Was he good? Did you ever see him? Do you know Joe Fraser?"
Sam: "Tell me about your grandfather."
Student: "I don't know. He doesn't box anymore. He's too old." 
Liz: "What does he do now?" 
Student: "I don't know. Do you box, Sam?" 
Sam: "I did when I was young. I loved it. Very intense, though."
Student: "How much did you weigh?"
Sam: "I don't remember, I was a little kid at summer camp. I just remember that it was terribly exhausting. Just one round would make you feel like you could never stand up again."
Student: "My grandfather was a boxer. But I'm not like him." 
Sue: "Why not? What's his name again?"
Student: "Cliff."
Sam: "Cliff the Boxer. I think that's a good title for a song. Do you think we should write that song?"
Student: "I don't know. I'm not really like him." 
Sam: "Well, it's not a song about you. And it doesn't even have to be all about your grandfather, exactly. It'll just be about a boxer named Cliff who happens to be the grandfather of the guy who's singing the song. Would that be okay?"
Student: "Okay." 

Sam recognized at this moment that it would be good if other students joined the process now. This would introduce elements into the song that would be less personal for the boy whose grandfather was Cliff the boxer, while enabling the imaginations of the other students to unfold some interesting ideas of their own so they could experience the thrill of participating in songwriting too. The boy with the grandfather never seemed too thrilled with this part of the process. It seemed as if it was a little too close to home for him. He alternated between expressions of pride and shame. You could tell that the real Cliff was a complicated character in his life, the subject of years of fantasy, and a man whom he really didn't know well at all, except for the fact that he is his grandfather and a boxer. 

Many questions were asked. The class teachers moved quickly and nimbly around the conversation with their intimate knowledge of all the students' personalities. Questioning takes a fast pace.

Sue: "What does Cliff do now?"
Student: "I don't know."
Sue: "He's old, does he work in the garden?"
Student: "I suppose he does."
Sue: "You work in the garden, don't you?"
Student: "Yes, I do."
Sam: "Do you like it?"
Student: "Yes, I do."
Sam: "Does everyone here work in the garden?"
Other Student: "I do."
Sam: "Do you like it?"
Other Student: "Yes, do you ever work in the garden?"
Sam: "I've worked a lot in a garden."
Student: "Do you like to work in the garden, Sam?"
Sam: "Yes." 
Student: "It's hard work, but it's good for you, you get big muscles. See…?" (He shows his muscles.) 
Liz: "Does Cliff like hard work?"
Student: "I don't know, but I suppose he does."
Sam: "Would you like to work with Cliff in the garden?"
Student: "Yes, I would."
Sam: "Who else would like to work with Cliff the boxer in the garden?"
Several Students: "I would."
Sam: "What does Cliff look like?"
Other Student: "He's big."
Sam: "Big fists? Is he tall? Is he old looking, all bent over? Is he slow? Or is he still pretty fast?"
Student: "He's tall. I'm not tall."
Sue: "Let's not go there." 
(Everyone seems to know what Sue's talking about, and Sam trusts that she's correct and stops talking about height. But Sam is curious and wants to look at this issue at a later time)
Sam: "Did Cliff, your grandfather, hold you in his lap when you were a baby?"
Student: "I guess he did."
Sam: "Were his hands really big?"
Student: "Yes."
Sue: "Was Cliff a really great boxer?"
Student: "Not as good as Ali. Do you know Ali?"
Sam: "Yes, he was boxing when I was your age."
Student: "Was he a really great boxer."
Sam: "The greatest. What about Cliff?"
Student: "He was good. Sam, do you like Dogs?"
Sam: "Yes, I do. Do you?"
Student: "Yes, do you know Kujo? He's a St Bernard. There's a movie about him."
Sam: "Was Cliff in that movie?" 
Student: "No." 
Sam: "Would you like Cliff to come and work in the garden with you?"
Student: "I don't know… yes, I would." 
Liz: "Would you all like to work with Cliff." 
Other Students: "Yes, I would." 

During the conversation, Sam is taking notes and strumming chords on his guitar. A few lines of the song seem to have appeared out of the conversation so far. The song was completed after two more sessions with students, and Sam working on it independently. Three other songs have been completed in the same way. 

During one-hour sessions the class works on two or three songs. Interspersed with talking and writing songs the class also sings popular songs together, which the students request. Exploring these songs and analyzing their lyrics is something that also helps students open up to group discussion. 

Read the lyrics of "Cliff the Boxer"

Hear the finished song "Cliff the Boxer"

Hear other songs from workshops