Merrily We Roll Along Choral Union performs Haydn


The Choral Union performed Missa in B-flat, Theresienmesse, by Franz Joseph Haydn for its spring concert, conducted by Dr. Jong Kim, professor of music and director of gradu- ate studies in music. Soloists were Tara Bouknight, alto and voice instructor at Lynchburg College; and Eun Kyung Yoo, soprano, Alex Tae Kwak, tenor, and Dong Keon Kim, bass, all soloists with the Korean Central Presbyterian Church in Centreville, Va., where the Choral Union later performed the same piece. The LC Concert Choir performed Laudate by Knut Nystedt; Ave verum Corpus by


William Byrd; Cantate Domino for 5 Voices by Han Leo Hessler; a Stephen Foster medley arranged by Jon Washburn; and Nella Fantasia, music by Ennio Morricone, arrangement by Audrey Snyder. Les Chanteurs, the Women’s Choir of Lynchburg College, also sang Ave Maria, Op. 93 by Gabriel Faure and O Music by David L. Brunner.


Understanding poverty Bethanie Tucker


Bethanie Tucker grew up in the poverty-rid- den tobacco fields of Danville, Va. At twenty- eight, her fa- ther was an emotionally crippled


WWII veteran who came home and married her soon-to-be mother, a fourteen-year-old girl living on the streets. Her father was never able to hold a job. Now an expert on reading in-


struction, Dr. Tucker spoke to a full house on “Understanding Poverty: Its Impact on Children and Schooling” for the twenti- eth annual Rosel Schewel Lecture in Education and Human Diversity. She has written several books includ- ing Tucker Signing Strategies for Reading, Reading by Age 5, and Understanding and Engaging


Under-Resourced College Students. Apart from a lack of money,


children living in poverty speak an entirely different language than children from more affluent homes, Dr. Tucker said. To begin with, they lack an equal vocabulary. Kindergarteners in poverty need to


learn twenty-five new words a day to catch up with their wealthier peers. An adult living in poverty has the same vocabulary as a wealthy three-year-old, she said. Poor children also lack knowl-


edge of the hidden rules of the middle class and wealthy. Dr. Tucker said that when she first in- vited her boyfriend (who later be- came her husband) to dinner, she bought large steaks. She had never eaten steak, much less prepared it, so she fried it “a long time” and served it with a bottle of soda pop. That was the entire meal. He wondered where the baked potato was and why there was no glass with ice. When children don’t know mid-


dle-class rules, the tendency is to assume they lack intelligence,Dr. Tucker said. According to the ex- pert, that is an assumption educa- tors must overcome. “We must dignify our students’ hidden rules,” she said. The use of humor and strength


in a poverty-filled home may seem crude and violent. Educators must teach children to express them- selves in new ways. “Education is all about helping students reframe the world,” she said. Dr. Tucker, who used audience


participation throughout her hu- morous talk, asked everyone to


discuss what their possessions would be if they were millionaires. Yachts, vacation homes, and Fer- raris were common choices. If you’re middle class? Cars and one home. If you’re poor? Dr. Tucker said people are your most precious


“possessions.” It’s one of the reasons poor parents have difficulty hear- ing criticisms of their children. Different socioeconomic groups


also have varying noise levels. The poorer you are, often the harder it is to be heard. Nonverbal commu- nication is also more important. “When I was a child,” Dr. Tucker


said, “I could look at my sister across the room and know if Uncle Jack was there and whether he had been drinking.” Money is another area where


the poor are different from those better off. “The rule in poverty is that you share,” Dr. Tucker said. While this is “a beautiful thing,” it also means that when poor people do get a cash infusion, they either don’t spend it wisely or give it away. It’s important to teach children to hang on to money for the future, she said. Teachers and others who work


with children can help provide support systems that they might not have at home. “We must give kids a future story,” she said.


Sondheim and Williams


The Theatre Department per- formed the musical, Merrily We Roll Along, by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth under the direction of Jeff Wittman, professor of the- atre. Moving backwards in time, the story revolves around a Broadway com- poser turned Hollywood pro- ducer and traces the lives of three close friends through each milestone of their per- sonal and professional lives. The musical won the Olivier Award for Best Musical in 2001, and Sondheim was nominated that year for the Tony Award for Best Original Score. In honor of Sond- heim’s eightieth birthday, Dr. Richard Burke, professor of English, presented a biogra- phical and visual retrospec- tive of the composer’s life and work on opening night. The Theatre Department


also staged the Tennessee Williams play, Summer and Smoke, under the direction of Brown Cardwell ’63. The play provides a glimpse into the lives (and souls) of the in- habitants of Glorious Hill, Miss., and their quest for honest and intimate human connections.


Fall 2011 LC MAGAZINE 9


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