What Do You Have To Say? - Some New Creative Skills

I've been thinking about learning to play violin. The solitary tune is rich enough to be chaotic, yet somehow always retains its elegant form in hands of a skilled player. Of course, attaining some degree of proficiency in playing such an intsrument would be a complex, long-term goal. But of course, it's fully worth it. I can't get the tunes of the instrument out of my head, I almost feel as if my mind is resonating with the instrument as the string screams forth beautiful melodies.


I've come to notice that the problem people have with learning a new intsrument, or learning new anything, seem to be not the difficulty of the endeavor itself but the fact that they would have to apply themselves to the humiliation of ignorance. Great teachers constantly remind their students what a worthy thing they are learning and striving forward to. Bad pedagogy, on the other hand, consists of reminding his or her students how ignorant and philistine they are in order to force them to proceed. But the fact of life is, while education of any kind is worthy and essential, there is nothing preventing them from simply leaving the scene. Maybe this lesson from instrument lessons can be applied to the frequently criticized eductaion systems of the United States.