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Umlaut

Umlaut is a linguistic phenomenon that affects the vowel quality of a syllable, think of diphthongs.  It is also used to refer to a group of Old English nouns.  Which group?  It's the group which changes the vowel when pluralized. 

I find this fascinating.  You may think otherwise.  But Honey Badger don't care.

I have always wondered how it is like to teach a student-centered classroom.  I think the most student-centered situation I've allowed myself to be in is during class discussion, or when students talk about their research topics.  Other than that, it's pretty much me navigating the classroom.  Little did I know that I actually have student-centered classes.  Not in my day job.  But in my night job - when I moonlight as a piano teacher!

It's strange that it took me so long to realize this.

I spent about 15 years of my life learning the piano.  Through the process, I've had five piano teachers.  I spent about ten years with the first two piano teachers.  These teachers made me go through a 'syllabus,' which at that time was pretty much normal because everyone else was going through the same thing.  Little did I know that I am missing out on so many other beautiful music.  Why?  Because I was stuck to John Thompson.  Not to say that John Thompson didn't have nice music.  It did.  It tried to be diverse, but failed miserably.  I don't remember anything from those books because I was not involved in choosing the songs.  I could skip a song only if it's too hard for me to play. Otherwise, it was pretty predictable.  I finish a song and move to the next one.  I don't take time in reading about the composer, trying to understand the music.  All I was focusing on was to finish the syllabus so I can move on to the next one. 

I promised myself that I will teach piano differently from then on.  I want my students to think of who they would like to study, what type of music they would like to learn.  So far, so good.  I must say.  It's a totally different approach, if compared to my first two teachers and my Korean neighbor whose house rings with Hanon or Czerny or the Entertainer.  I want my piano lessons to be student-centered.  I want my piano students to be brave enough to explore the whole realm of music!

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