A couple of weeks ago my daughter called to say that my granddaughter had done extremely well on the Ohio competency math test. I shouldn't have been surprised. I had noticed that her school was using an experimental curriculum that was introducing them to basic algebra and geometry already in the 4^th grade. I was impressed and happy for her.

But what I really want to talk about is what I heard at a recent installation service in Cleveland. A children's choir sang Luther's Kyrie God in Heaven Above. If you're not a soprano and try to sing the melody on that one, you will hurt yourself. I hope it is not too blasphemous to say that I doubt that the angels themselves could have done much better than those kids did. It was a treat to hear them sing well a pretty tricky hymn that many adults will give up on as being impossibly difficult to sing, after attempting just one stanza.

Now here's the connection between these two stories: I've never met parents who would be satisfied with their kids getting a third-rate education. They understand the need for a quality, challenging education to prepare them for a world that will be increasingly competitive. They are willing to push their kids to new limits, and teach them skills at younger ages. Yet when it comes to their kids singing in church, well, let's say their expectations seem to be significantly lower. The latest ditty will bring approving smiles all round. Why? Is it because they don't think their kids are capable of anything more challenging? If so, they may be shortchanging their kids and their capabilities. Is it because they themselves don't appreciate the music so they automatically think their kids wouldn't (or shouldn't !) either? Nobody has ever been challenged by people who are satisfied with bare minimums. Today's olympic medalists didn't get that way by being raised or coached by folks who were easily satisfied with minimum requirements.

When it comes to your child's Sunday School/parochial school music, what expectations do you have? Doesn't Paul say it well when he writes, “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” It might be nice if we (or our children) not only thought about such things, but sang them as well!