The Effects of Giving (11-27-24)
There is a philosophical question, "If a tree falls in a forest, would it emit a sound?"
This question implies that for sound to occur, there must be an emitter and a receptor to the sound. That is, sound is produced when the waves created by the falling tree reach your ear and is translated into sound within your brain. If there is no one there, then there are waves but not sound.
As educators we know that sometimes we may say something and although the student may hear what we say, if the individual is not really listening, then the information is not being received. As music teachers, we are teaching music mostly be ear[-the teacher demonstrates and the student listens]because it has been proven to be highly effective in learning music where the concentration and focus of the student is on the sound they hear. Then when the student is asked to reproduce the sound that was heard, many different senses become activated. The student activates what he heard, what he felt, what he saw, and lastly what he understood intellectually as the way to imitate the teacher. If we spend too much time explaining what we are doing, then the student often is no longer listening. To go even further, the importance of listening to recordings allows the student to reinforce this pathway of hearing music and by listening to it, activating multiple senses that will then facilitate learning the new piece.
Giving and receiving thanks and gratitude is very similar. It requires both a giver and a receiver. As we enter the Thanksgiving weekend, we are reminded that it is a time where we give thanks to others for their kindness, their care, their hard work, their love. This is a significant learning moment where children learn that the act of giving thanks gives pleasure to the recipient of that gratitude but also can be hugely touching to the giver themself with the realization that expressing gratitude can be uplifting.
With the season of these holidays, we are also looking at the nationally recognized "Giving Tuesday" to remind people of the important work of non-profit charitable organizations and their need for philanthropic gifts to do their work. Suzuki School of Newton is also a non-profit organization and we are in need of your support. It is thanks to the support and giving of our donors that the Suzuki School can help students in financial need, hire a world class faculty and enjoy having our own home. We operate on a very tight budget--often with donated tech equipment, instruments, furniture and books--and also monetary gifts. These make it possible for us to continue to thrive and flourish and bring excellent care to our Preschool students and music to all of our students. We are immensely grateful if you would consider making a gift today or on Giving Tuesday. We have received a various generous offer to match all gifts from now to the end of December with a 2 to 1 match. You can make it possible for us to reach our $150,000 goal.
And as the sound of the tree falling in the forest, I want to express my deep gratitude to all of you who attended our faculty concert last Sunday. We had record turnout of close to 200 people and raised nearly $3,000 through our ticket sales. If the faculty had played and there were no audience, the sounds of our music would not have been heard. Thanks to all of you, the music that was so beautifully played by our talented teachers was heard by our wonderful audience!
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!