Performing at a venue like Carnegie Hall is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
And yet, probably hundreds of school and community ensembles participate in concerts there every year. Which makes it sound more everyday.
Which is it? Once-in-a-lifetime or everyday?
It can be both. Even if your school performs at Carnegie Hall every other year, most of your singers will never perform more than once in that hallowed hall. It’s both a regular occurrence and not. The same holds for a trip to Europe, an ACDA performance, a national or international competition, marching in a Bowl Game or parade.
(The magic of Cognitive Dissonance!)
What other experiences are both once-in-a-lifetime and everyday? Are you giving enough weight to activities that feel ordinary to you but might be extraordinary to your students?