Memories of Christmas Recital

This past Christmas recital was an extra special event for the Schupbach Piano Studio. We all knew it was the last event that we would have together, as I was moving to Colorado, leaving my wonderful students behind in Virginia. Excitement rose as we prepared our pieces that would be played on Warrenton’s best piano, a 9 foot Bosendorfer Grand. This would be the first recital for Miles, Arielle and Jennifer, and they were serious about getting their pieces ready. I was serious about helping them be emotionally prepared, so that they would finish strong, without fear. Daniel surprised me by having his piece ready the first week in December, while Annalise struggled and then conquered a piece that was a bit above her level. In the ranks of my intermediate students, it was all about style, as I taught Joshua the difference between baroque, classical and romantic in his crowd pleasing arrangement of We Wish you a Merry Christmas.  Carter had chosen one of my favorites, O Holy Night, and we had long talks about how to get the emotion of the words into the music itself…”A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn! Fall on you knees…” Every time I heard that, a chill would go up my spine. A discouraged world dares to believe the truth that a baby, God’s son, could change everything.

Finally the day arrived. It was cold. It was rainy. However, the Christmas lights were reflected in the raindrops, and old town Warrenton was tastefully decked in its holiday finery. Just before recital started I took all my participating students to a room just off the foyer. We prayed together, reminded ourselves where the right and left sides of the bench were located, and lined up in order. Looking at their eager, nervous faces, I thought about all that we had learned together. Each one was so unique, so special, and I knew right then that I would miss each of them dreadfully. The 26 of us filed in, and a hush fell over the audience.  After a short welcome and prayer my bravest student, Miles, played the first notes. Student after student played, each finished strong. Some students surprised me by playing from memory. (Memory is not a requirement for this recital.) No one played perfectly, but they all played with heart, talent, and confidence, which is in my opinion far more important. As the last notes of my Chopin Nocturne died away, and I rose to face the audience, my heart overflowed with gratitude for the successful recital, but even more for the opportunity of knowing such a wonderful group of people.

Julia's student recital 121308

Collateral Damage

My personal experience is that our current crop of public teachers are awful. I would be willing to support a base $100,000 salary for public school teachers with the hope that we can entice those (primarily) professional women who once populated  the teacher ranks when they were limited in other job opportunities.

 

The high IQ women have gravitated to engineering, computer science, law, medicine, corporate management – whereas they once were limited to teaching, nursing and secretarial work. That has left the teaching profession with moderate IQ in our classroom.

 

(And, yes, I am speaking generally – there are many excellent teachers. But we have hundreds of thousands of teachers, and their median IQ has been visibly reduced because of the other opportunities now available to them.)

 

All of us are victims of our personal experience. This analysis is the result of MY personal experience. Obviously, others may have had a different experience – but many of today’s public school teachers in North San Diego County sat in my classroom during their undergraduate and graduate years.

 

I was not impressed with them as students. We need to do something to lure back the best and fire the rest. And, yes, we will have to overpay the rest, until we can get the best – and that bothers me but not nearly so much as continuing down this road.

 

I am not looking to blame anyone. We are the victims of a cultural shift that needed to happen but teaching and nursing in particular were collateral damage.

 

Although I did not address them, the nursing profession is also hurting as highly qualified women entered other newly available professions open to them.

 

I have some personal experience with nursing homes. Highly qualified nurses of very high IQ are in great demand but they are few and far between.  They are limited to ER and ICU departments, or the eye, plastic surgery etc. specialties who can afford to hire the best.

 

(My nurse in ICU said she was being paid $1,000 a SHIFT! She was worth it!)

 

But nursing homes, even the best, pay poorly and the nurses I had for my friend were caring, dedicated people but they were tired. Many were single moms, speaking less than perfect English, and working in two centers to make ends meet. They were TIRED!

 

The cultural shift that set women free was long overdue but it will take many decades to mend the damaging results.

 

No one’s fault except for not seeing and solving the problem. No one has.

Something, Something

Chasing the setting sun,

A battle finally losing.

And one day you’d find someone,

But wonder if it was all worth it.

Cause there was always a danger.

A danger of falling,

Beneath The cliffs,

And into the folds.

Before you finally realize,

you should’ve taken a step back.

Started reading the signs.

Move closer to the fire alarm,

A little safer along the ledge.

Should’ve been the one to have started something.

I wanna be startin’ somethin’.

Maybe by now you’re already stumbling.

Plummet a thousand miles underground.

Go sailing without a parachute,

And have the time of your life.

Cause by tomorrow it would all be changing.

An inch by a centimeter.

Sway me gently in the breeze.

Tonight we forget the fire.

Dance till the well runs dry.

And perchance we remember tomorrow.

Tomorrow will fade away.

yume no tsubasa

Creation,Abortion:America's Future.

My  Dear Christian Folk:  Whereas the six day creation was a prodigious  accomplishment by Creator God ;certainly deserving of a day of rest;is it reasonable to believe that having

created the heavens and the  Earth He would retire His hammer and chisel:Would  He lay down the paint brush and simply   cease all future creative endeavors? 

Would any artist of any age after creating a masterpiece simply rest on his laurels and make no further contribution to the art world?

No one who has witnessed the night sky, free and clear of human contamination, can argue  or deny  the  creative powers of The Almighty : and the majestic brilliance of His pallet of color and  design.

 As far as it is given for man to know the human race is  His masterpiece inhabiting the present world.

And if  Genesis chap.1&2 can be used we clearly see that He

installed His progeny in a garden of perfection to live in joy and harmony  :and commissioned   these  first two humans to supervise

this garden paradise and to act as majordomos :The only commandment  they needed to concern themselves with was  to heed the prohibition against picking and eating certain forbidden fruit.

 We all know what happened hence.  You can almost  hear  the HSSSSSSS can’t you….

If you close your eyes and cover your ears from all other sounds you can still hear the HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

But more  importantly ;what happened to  Adam after the expulsion from the garden of bliss?

Was he de-commissioned  by the  Almighty from his position as majordomo first-class, in charge of God’s creation?

  

The scriptures do not indicate this to be the case.

Therefore are we to understand that   as descendants of Adam we

continue to be the weed pullers and tree pruners of Gods natural creation?

If not us then who?

Who are we to debate how the Almighty chooses to continue His creative work in the world and throughout his universe?

 This act of co-creation ,whereby man using his reasoning powers and his intellect advances the glory of  God among the peoples of the earth.

Was man created to pull the plow ,to compete with other mammals for his food?

By using his mind  ,man elevated his position in the natural world and in the process created the culture and civilization by which and through which God’s name may be glorified on the earth.

My Christian folk: The subject of  universal access to the abortion

medical procedure is being used to deliberately confuse you and

to frighten you away from your God Given responsibility to care and improve the imperfections that exist within humankind.

While Roe v.Wade is in need of reform since it allows for the destruction of human life ; this alone  cannot be used to ban all abortions.

We owe to future generations people who will bring dignity and  honor to God’s creative genius.

Are we not allowing the young and physically fit to be slaughtered  on the battlefields in two wars,while the incapacitated and the unfit are protected and shielded and even are allowed to inundate society?

Man Bites God's Music Video Competition