12 September 2011

Loves to dance


My mother thought she had the best job in the world. An elementary school music teacher. When the kids came to her it was for FUN. She had her Master's +30 in music education and could play anything on the piano. Ross plays beautifully too and I always wish she could have heard him.

On the day we (including me) got to go to music class, we'd sing Waltzing Matilda or Yankee Doodle. Sometimes we'd get to listen to Peter and the Wolf or The Sound of Music. We even got to play the triangle or shake the maracas.

She had an old portable record player she'd carry from school to school. Sometimes I'd get to use it at home - put that little plastic adapter in my 45's and dance and sing along. I'm sure I wore down the stylus on Puppy Love and Rockin' Robin.

I wonder if kids go to music class anymore. Are there even teachers like my mother anymore?

I ran across a TedTalks speech the other day that I think is great. Through the growing-up years, sometimes we feel the need to make our kids smarter, more competitive, and successful academically. Who can argue with that?

But perhaps we forget some kids just love to dance.

This talk by Ken Robinson isn't new, but it's enlightening and humorous. Worth your time if you have it.


No comments:

Post a Comment