Klarinet Archive - Posting 000288.txt from 2000/09

From: "Rien Stein" <rstein@-----.nl>
Subj: [kl] audiences
Date: Fri, 8 Sep 2000 19:48:16 -0400

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At Tue, 5 Sep 2000 09:33:41 -0500 Edwin Lacey wrote

<<
I'm not sure that there is any such thing as an "easy" audience. =
However, I
have performed six times on the bassoon at conventions of the =
International
Double Reed Society, and I find such an audience to be more congenial =
than
many others. If you have a problem, they are likely to realize what is
happening, and to emphathize, because they have probably had the same
problem themselves, perhaps many times. The only really critical people =
I
have ever encountered at such an event are those who can be counted =
among
the least accomplished performers.
>>

Dear Ed

this reminded me ofan experience I once had with the most critical =
audience you can imagine; a class room full of adolescent pupils. When =
still a teacher I often had student teachers who came to me for getting =
some experience. When one of these boys was having his exam, in third =
grade, he got stuck completely with a problem, he had a complete =
blackout. It was one of the most difficult classes I ever had - and I =
began to fear this class would "kill" the poor chap. But after some very =
remarkable moments of almost absolute silence suddenly the class =
actually started to help him!=20

When afterwards I discussed the incident with this class, they told me =
"YOU are the expert on teaching, but WE are the experts on teachers ..." =
This generation, spoiled by Dr Spock, also in this country, now has =
children in secondary school itself, and sometimes I feel a strong =
desire to go back into school, to see what these children and their =
parents are like.

In my opinion that terrible "youth of today" is not better, than we =
were, but also not worse, only is living undr much more difficult =
circumstances. But that is a topic we should not discuss on this list, I =
think

Rien

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