Posted by tony on December 18, 2003 at 09:38:45:
In Reply to: Teaching and reality posted by no name on December 17, 2003 at 21:30:12:
Who are we to judge? If a student, mediocre or incredible, wants to follow his or her passion of playing music in college, why not let them? There are soooo many kids that change their major once they start studying in college and realize it really wasn't what they wanted. How many students actually make it all the way thru the programs? Usually the ones that should. Academia exsists as a place for students to investigate and find who they are and what they want to become, as well as a place to get degrees in a particular field. My main point is this...many are recruited, but few go the distance. The student has the right to choose what they want to pursue. That is what America is all about. if they suck, they will more than likely realize that they are not NY Phil material at some point. if not, who here has the right to tell someone they can not follow their passion, even to the point of failure? That's how we learn, and grow as a society.
I wouldn't go as far as to say I push my high school students to study music in college, but if they express an interest in it, I say go for it, especially if they have not decided on anything else. There is no crime in trying, and failing. I have never gotten the impression from any of the teachers on the college level that I have met that they can gaurantee a major gig when they leave their school. They don't recruit with those tactics, so they are not the ones giving any false hope. They offer the opportunity to learn their craft. The rest is up to the learner.