"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.
