In high school, on the first day of my choir class, the teacher taught us a good lesson. He said, “In this school there can be cattiness and bullying. We don’t do that in this classroom; it’s not tolerated. If you can’t agree to this, then this is not the class for you.” 

I was so impressed by the refreshing love behind the teacher’s desire for a harmonious environment. He modeled that standard himself with a genial temperament and kindness in his daily teaching. That created a classroom culture that was a safe haven from the various high school challenges and was the highlight of my high school experience. This high standard was also reflected in the choir’s success, which included participation in collegiate tournaments at the national level. 

Looking back on this experience from a spiritual perspective, I saw that this teacher expressed harmony in such a proficient way musically, that he simply could not tolerate any lack of it elsewhere. Creating a safe space for the pupils in the school community was as natural and necessary to him as correcting a student whose singing was off-key.