Expert

Watching the calm and disciplined music teacher walk across the floor in front of us, I was amazed. Ms. Saunders clearly demonstrated how the students learned to hold the bow and then, step by step, through the process of learning the different skills needed to play the violin. The students were also calm, ready. She would, unphased, ask them to say the sounds out loud before playing them. There were obviously inside jokes, but subdued ones that had the students smiling quietly and eagerly when she referenced them.

My daughter, a lover of order, was there, sitting with her back straight and was ready for each demonstrated skill. She now references that day, rolling her eyes about how I’m going to cry publicly. It has become a joke for us, how I was overwhelmed and began weeping in the second row, amazed that my children’s first experience with music in school was with someone so thorough and exceptional.

She had their total attention, in the way only a truly excellent and experienced teacher can, and was also the kind of teacher that wasn’t desiring to be the center of attention, she was just completely in command in her pursuit of their learning. I had low expectations. I went to public school too, and had a wonderful experience learning to play an instrument, but through my experiences with education since then, I expected the music program to be okay or merely subpar.

And so I wept, just holding on from becoming a loud, “ugly” cry. My daughter was enjoying herself, her little heart shining forth in the pleasure of mastery. She had learned to play an instrument. And she had been taught by someone who was unwilling to skimp or take shortcuts. I wished I was rich so I could do something dramatic and generous to express the largeness of my feelings of gratitude.

— slowjamr