Despite this being the last day of the year, all my piano students except one came for their lessons. They seemed happy, relaxed. Maybe because they were still on winter break. And practiced too, so that a few of them actually made some good musical progress. Most of the year they came to their lessons yawning or sick. Kids work so hard when they’re in school. Three or four tests a week, book reports, projects on top of everything else. I felt sorry for them, but they just shrugged their shoulders. They learned from a young age life is work.
As a teacher I demand the same thing—practice, practice. But piano often loses out when pitted against schoolwork and I find myself a lone caller in the wild. “It’s OK,” I tell myself, “so long as they don’t hate coming to their lessons I’ve done my job.” And look, we had fun today. What a great way to end the year!
