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Ebenezer
Aug. 15, 2006
Learning curve
Well, we're about done with day 2 of Sonlight 3 (and all the other stuff I've added in: see below). I know that my son likes school and is excited to know new things. But he's loathe to admit it, mostly because he would hate for us to be right about something. His favorite response to "How was it?" is "Better than I thought it would be." High praise indeed. I suppose if you set your expectations low enough, you'll never be disappointed. At least he's a cheerful worker most of the time, and, glory be, he is no longer having meltdowns about not doing something perfectly the first time, like, say, a new piano song, or a timed math drill.
Speaking of piano, he's been taking lessons for almost a year now, and his teacher continues to tell me that -- despite the fact that he can't sing his way out of a paper bag -- he's good at it. I think that she thinks there's some sort of musical ability. I, on the other hand, think that he simply has a short learning curve, and as he's still very much in the skills acquisition stage, i.e. learning the terminology and symbols, counting, etc., he can seem impressive when he can play a simple song perfectly the second or third time through. (And I do mean very simple. Because the book series they're using stresses theory right alongside performance, it goes a lot slower in terms of technical difficulty.) But I think -- and this is not to denigrate my son's abilities, nor is it a definitive prediction -- that eventually he will hit a wall, because while he seems to enjoy playing, or learning new things, I don't really sense in him the kind of passion or intuition that will get him beyond the mechanical playing of notes on a page. Not to mention that the actual mechanics of playing will get more difficult, and I think he'll hit a wall in terms of putting everything together (see above about his latent perfectionism). I hope not, but evidence in other areas suggests otherwise.
In fact, I'd like to know this: my son is good at certain things. He enjoys lots of things. But he lacks a focus. I know, it's early. But how do I inspire a passion -- more specifically, a passion for something he already shines at without really trying? (I'm not even talking about piano.) I fear he's going to follow my path, which is being a mile wide and an inch deep, a dilettante who won't be able to hold down a job. (That last part isn't me.) Do these things eventually shake themselves out? Am I doing him a disservice by exposing him to lots of interests in the hopes that something sticks?
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