A day of nothing.
One week. Let's summarise what I did.
It would basically be school, crap, stone, absorb, laugh, home, surf, dota, and sleep. That's the brief one.
English is getting worse for me. Not the lessons, nor the teacher, but my grasp of the language. Like wtf? A comprehension that I could totally comprehend, but which questions left me stumped, giving me a 16/28. I am beginning to question if I was ever good in english in the first place. I mean like, comprehending words doesnt count. And I can say for sure, I fucked up that summary. I certainly hope that doesnt spell the end of my A1 for english.
K now on physics. Like ggendplz. I realised my understanding of reflection and refraction is still not there yet, not anywhere near for that matter.
Didnt manage to submit my entry for the Trexi toy design competition. Not that I give a damn. I mean, my design wasnt good to begin with, why waste my and their time? Ima do some brushing up first.
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I was reading some stories, when I stumbled upon this, one which captured my heart.
"My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. I've always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons, something I've done for over 30 years.
Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a prodigy, though I have taught some talented students.
However, I've also had my share of what I call "musically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.
Well, Robby began his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my students to learn.
Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never stopped in.
Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but assumed that because of his lack of ability he had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching!
Several weeks later I mailed to the students’ homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out, he really did not qualify.
He said that his mother had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons but he was still practicing. "Miss Hondorf . . .I've just got to play!" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital. Maybe it was his persistence or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be all right.
The night for the recital came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends, and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer".
Well, the recital went off without a hitch. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an egg-beater through it. "Why didn't he dress up like the other students?" I thought. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?"
Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto #21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys; they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo. . . from allegro to virtuoso. His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by a person his age. After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on their feet in wild applause.
Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that Robby! How'd you do it? "
Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well, Miss Hondorf . . . . remember I told you my mom was sick? Well actually she had cancer and passed away this morning. And well . . . . she was born deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special."
There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy. I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil.
No, I've never had a prodigy, but that night I became a prodigy . . . of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself and maybe even taking a chance in someone and you don't know why."
I would think so.
Blogged at 9:21 pm
