Have you ever seen a movie called “ The Choir Boys”(《放牛班的春天》)？The French movie tells the story of a group of naughty boys who learn music from a dedicated(尽职的) teacher. In Shanghai, there is also a group of children learning music. But their story is a bit different.
The musical group, “Shepherds'Kids” , was founded(建立) by the Shanghai Jiuqian Volunteer Center. There are about 40 students in this group. Their parents are migrants(打工者) working in Shanghai.“ The music courses are free,” said Zhang Yichao, founder of the group. “We just want to make the children's lives more colorful.”The kids learn singing, dancing and musical instruments. Their teachers are volunteers from high schools.Learning music is not an easy job, especially for these migrant workers' children.“I never know the musical stave(五线谱) before,” said Hua Delong, 13. “Sometimes it was really hard to study.”Tang Yue is a volunteer teacher at the center. She is a student from Shanghai Ping'he Bilingual High School.“These kids face difficulties bravely,” said Tang. “Sometimes they have to help their parents do housework and have little time to practice, but I never hear them complain.”
Their hard work has paid off(回报). Today many people know the group. They have even performed as a choir for foreign pop stars.
Li Luo, 14, told “ Teens” how appreciative she was of the group.“I had little fun before. I seldom(很少) watched TV. Study seemed the most interesting thing in my life. “Shepherds' Kids has given me a new life.”
