The Fiddler in the Subway

"The poet Billy Collins once laughingly observed that all babies are born with a knowledge of poetry, because the lub-dub of the mother's heart is in iambic meter. Then, Collins said, life slowly starts to choke the poetry out of us. It may be true with music, too."

The Fiddler in the Subway by pulitzer prize winning journalist Gene Weingarten explores the idea of would we recognize genius out of context. His essay reports on a real experiment facilitated in Washington DC when Joshua Bell performed the Charconne from Bach's Partita No.2 in D Minor outside of a subway for 45 minutes disguised in old clothes. He made $37. If a great musician plays great music and nobody hears. . .was he really any good? What is beauty? Is it a fact? Is it an opinion? Is it a little of each, but informed by the state of mind of the observer? Weingarten observed: "Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away."

This passage especially impacted me:
"One biologically intriguing fact about Bell is that he got his first music lessons when he was a four year old in Bloomington Indiana. His parents, both psychologists, decided formal training might be a good idea after they saw that their son had strung rubber bands across his dresser drawers and was replicating classical tunes by ear, plucking the strings and moving the drawers out to vary the pitch>" My reflection piece as a parent and an educator is do I give children the time, space and loose parts necessary to experiment on this level? Not that I need my child to be the best musician in the world (although that would be cool), but do they have opportunity to discover their unique genius independent of my understanding, or even my adult agenda?

It is interesting to consider how the current vogue and pervasive use of gadgets (ipods, phones, etc.) impacts our ability to connect in real time and intentionally with the world around us. How does the constant barrage of stimulation actually cocoon us from broadening experiences?

One of the intentional teaching strategies at Home Sweet Home is conscious listening. Taking time outside of and within routine and schedule to actively hear. What might this skill mastered in Early Childhood support for young learners developing competencies? What might these strategies look like and how can we further enhance this? Adults turning off visual and audio distractions and laying next to a child, eyes open or closed, and simply being for 15 minutes. What emerges when we are quiet with our thoughts and open to the environment?