When I was a freshman in college, my vocal instructor was about to accompany me on one of the Schubert Lieder when he suddenly turned around and asked me how old I was.
“Nineteen,” I said.
"When Franz Schubert was nineteen, he’d already written a hundred songs,” said my instructor pointedly. “How many songs have you written?” He lifted an eyebrow and gave a self-satisfied smile, then commenced the tune without waiting for an answer.
Read MoreI’ve noticed a pattern in the way people learn to teach math.
At first, someone is thrilled just to know how to solve a particular kind of problem and show someone else how to do it. They can teach a student how to carry out a procedure that they have learned.
The next step in the development of the aspiring teacher or tutor is to lead a student toward an understanding of a concept strong enough that the procedure becomes self-evident.
Read MoreWhen we teach history, it’s easy to unwittingly imbue events with a sense of inevitability — of destiny.
After all, things happened the way they happened — the only forking paths we can create are imaginary, born of the “what ifs” that we ask ourselves.
It’s important to see that, at every step of the way, what we call history is the result of human activity. Individual human beings made choices, collectively creating movements or maintaining the status quo. Some choices are more influential than others, but change always comes from people making the decision to act.
Read MoreThe mother of a three-year-old revealed in conversation why she didn’t want to teach letters and numbers to her child.
“I don’t want him to be bored in preschool,” she said.
Grateful to have the opportunity and invitation to educate, I suggested that she teach her child without reservation, just as she had done for his first three years. “You are his first and best teacher,” I said.
Read MoreWhen I look back at my college career at the University of Maine, many of my fondest memories revolved around being a member of the University Singers under the direction of Dr. Dennis K. Cox.
I have learned many things from DC, including the beauty of choral literature and the magic that can be created by a joyful group of people unified in their sound and their intent. However, one lesson I’ve never forgotten was one applicable not to choir, but to life in general. He told us, “When faced with a decision, it doesn’t matter what you choose, as long as you commit to it one hundred percent.”
Read MoreAs a freshman voice student, I was in trouble: I was supposed to sing opera, which I was terrible at.
My first teacher was an older man with a brisk, condescending demeanor. Our lessons together were bearable, but something was missing. By January or so, I didn’t feel that I had made a lot of improvement, and I’m sure he felt the same way.
One day, I asked him, “Do you believe that anyone can learn to sing?”
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