Thursday, May 2, 2013

Standout Moments with Other People's Children

"There are two kinds of children, your own and someone else's."  I found this sentence in an essay on teaching that I wrote  a while back, and which will soon appear in a new book of essays on various musical subjects (rather like this blog, in fact).

Every parent recalls particular moments in their own children's lives.  But I find it stunning that specific moments stand out in my work with other people's children.  I take this to be an indication that there is such a thing as in-depth communication even in a classroom encounter.

It is particularly special when the wonder gets expressed two ways.

Once on an M-104 bus riding uptown I received a tap on the shoulder.  It was a young boy: "You play the piano in my class every week!"    I do not recall his name and would undoubtedly not recognize him if I ran into him again but that tap on the shoulder stays with me.  He is probably a musician of some sort.