In the 1960s a number of singers recorded the popular song which contained the signature lines, “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to, cry if I want to, cry if I want to. You would cry too if it happened to you”. If the reasoning is that because it was the girl’s party, she could cry as much as she liked, then it implies that if it was not her party then she would be rude and out of place to cry. The appeal, based on the belief that we would all have done the same, is that she had every reason to do so. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to, I’ll do what I want to.

Many people will take up a similar line when it comes to their life (not just their party) and claim “It’s my life and I’ll do what I want to, do what I want to, do what I want to.” From Frank Sinatra singing “I’ll do it my way” to the recent powerful outburst of “This is me” from the film “The Greatest Showman” with its own signature lines, “I am who I’m meant to be, I’m not scared to be seen, I make no apologies. This is me”. In many ways that is the strong encouragement we propose to our pupils.

So, yes, it is our party and we can cry if we want to and it is our life and we can do what we want to (within the law, let it just be added) – absolutely. However, without wishing to make a big song and dance out of it, when it comes to our work place it may be our party and it may be our life but it is not our school and so we cannot do what we want to, just like that, even if it is “me”. “This is me” becomes “this is us”. In the 1960s Barbra Streisand brought out a record entitled “When in Rome” which picked up on the well-known proverb “When in Rome do as the Romans do” and the message applies to us as employees of a school as much as pupils and indeed parents in the school. When we choose to accept a position at a workplace we undertake to follow not just their customs, traditions, policies and practices but also their beliefs and principles. We are all to be singing the same song, the song of that workplace, not our own song. “This is me” must fit in with “This is us”.

Madonna played the part of Eva Peron, the wife of the country’s leader in the 1970s hit musical ‘Don’t cry for me, Argentina’ and tried to plead her case with the lines, “It won’t be easy, you’ll think it strange, When I try to explain how I feel” building up to the crescendo, “Don’t cry for me, Argentina.” It may not be easy for us to understand and we may think it strange but we are part of a school and we must sing their song. It is not a matter of crying about it; we must get on and do it, without seeking sympathy or support. If we do, we might well hear the words of another Barbra Streisand song as well as a Justin Timberlake song, ‘Cry me a river’ – we can “cry me a river” as much as we like but we still will not do whatever we want, if it is not part of our song.

Of course, it is fair to say that we can cry wherever we like; there is no law about crying. We can cry, we can sing, we can do as we want to if we are solo but when we are together we cannot, it no longer is our party. As a singer, we can sing whatever song we want but as a choir member we sing the songs of the choir, not our own song. Our ATS schools all have their own unique, special, beautiful ‘song’, found in the Vision, Mission and Values of each school, and in serving in that school we each must sing and play our part. Don’t cry! Just sing! Sing it loud, sing it long, sing it again!

Here’s hoping we can enjoy much great singing this year! For further thoughts on our role consider the article on the ATS website entitled, “Teach The Child” – http://www.atschisz.co.zw/category/ats/executive-director-newsletter/

TIM MIDDLETON Executive Director ATS