Father We Thank Thee -- Rebecca Weston

You would probably guess that she was a teacher, even if all you knew about her were two short verses she penned in the 1870s. Rebecca Weston helped popularize the school and the age that she taught, when she encouraged her students to sing “Father, We Thank Thee” as one of the routines at the Garland School in Boston (it later became a junior college for homemakers, as depicted in one of its signs). She may have done some of the same things as a child, perhaps stimulating her own thoughts of what small children needed from a school and its teachers. Its two verses suggest a two-fold response, a formula for living that could be recommended for adults too.

Rebecca Weston spent most or all of her life in Massachusetts, both as a student and then as an educator. She reportedly attended school as a child there and later was enrolled at Mount Holyoke, although she may not have finished or acquired a degree. Nevertheless, she was apparently a gifted student, having obtained a scholarship medal as a 15-year old. It was no surprise that she was a very capable teacher in the Boston area for close to two decades, subsequently. But, where she must have found her true calling was in helping spawn the Kindergarten school as an educational norm in the U.S. in the 1870s. At the Garland School, she undoubtedly spent hours with her first-time school-goers, deciding how best to shape their experience and give them the best start. Her formula may have been best described in what she wrote in “Father, We Thank Thee”, most likely in the 1870s, as a woman in her prime, probably around 40 years old. It’s pretty simple, yet effective: recognize one’s blessings (v. 1), and then respond appropriately (v.2). Could this have been what she herself had learned in one form or another as a five- or six-year old? The Creator provides what we often say are our ‘rights’ in contemporary lexicon – a place where we can rest, enjoy the sunshine, and be sustained by food and the care of others around us (v.1). Yet, how much of that is my own doing? It might have been a question that Rebecca asked and answered for herself, subsequently deciding that a proper response to the blessings she acknowledged (v.1) was a virtuous life before others and God (v.2). That must have been at least one of the scholastic objectives in schools of Rebecca’s era. How’s that sound in a school today?

Look at Rebecca’s musical output, and you might conclude that she accomplished little – only one song (‘Father, We Thank Thee’) is credited to her. Her audience – the very youngest school-age children – also may seem fairly insignificant. Yet, a child’s first school experience – I still remember mine, 50 years later – can have immeasurable impact. Do you remember your first school episodes? Do you and I ever stop being learners? Now, try on Rebecca’s verses one more time.    

See the brief details of the song story here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/f/w/t/fwththee.htm

Very brief biography of the composer is here: http://www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/w/e/s/weston_rj.htm

Read about Garland Junior College here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garland_Junior_College