Sexist at Six

We were sitting at church today and my six-year-old daughter was sitting next to me. The opening hymn music began to play and one of my good friends -- a man -- got up to conduct the congregation in singing the hymn. My daughter leaned over and asked, "What is he doing up there?" I about burst out laughing.

You see, most of the music conductors in our church are female (okay, nearly all of them), so it would be only natural that she would have that response since she's never seen a male music conductor. Nevertheless, her question was such a surprise to me that I couldn't help myself, and I snickered.

To make matters worse, we were on the second row, about fifteen feet from him, and I'm certain he heard her. Throughout the meeting, he did a brave job of conducting, even though he often waved his arm in the air off-tune (is that the right word?) and didn't know the words to many of the songs. He clearly looked uncomfortable standing up there, being the center of attention.

Nevertheless, despite her question and my own little snicker, he is a good example of one who is willing to do his duty and try new things, and I'm grateful for him. I'm confident he'll eventually learn to conduct better. The better question is: can I teach my six-year-old to not be so sexist?!