Comments

How wonderful that you were able to see the teacher who made all the difference! When I think of your experience, I think back to the film "Mr. Holland's Opus." In some ways you are Mr. Peterson's opus. Aw geez, I got all teary reading this, Emily! Aw, how wonderful that you were able to reunite with a special teacher like that. Thanks for sharing, Emily. :) That is really beautiful, Emily. So many times, we think about doing something like that... but how much more it means to actually do them.

I'll bet you made him cry, too!

I am glad Mr. Peterson inspired somebody. He basically took $360 from me and I pretty much lost all interest in the orchestra at Union Public Schools. It's wonderful that you finally did that. It must have meant a lot to your former teacher -- and to you, too.

It took me 10 years after graduation from college to write to one of my professors and thank him for the considerable amount of good he had done for me. Since then, we've been writing each other fan letters. I felt much better after writing to him.

Thomas,

Union public schools was where I got my start, for better or for worse. The string program was in no way perfect, but it still has made an opportunity for many people to learn a stringed instrument who would not otherwise have been able to, and that's what my blog was about. If you have an issue with Mr. Peterson, resolve it with him instead of slinging it onto my blog.

I'm so happy that you met up again with one of your earliest teachers! I try to keep in touch with my teachers from years past. The few times that we have been able to hook up again, it was always a joyful occasion.

Keep those connections! They are an integral part of your life!

Fifteen years after I graduated from high school I was looking for a string quartet to play at my wedding in my parents' home town. With college, graduate school, and postdoc, I hadn't been back there much except for short visits. When I asked the music director at the church to recommend someone, they said "call Steven Thomas." Steven Thomas was Mr. Thomas, my high school orchestra teacher. He'd gone on to teach at a different high school and to become a popular local freelance violinist.

I wasn't sure, when I called him, if he'd remember me either, but he did, and he and his quartet played at the wedding. The music was so beautiful and it was wonderful to walk down the aisle to music played by him and his quartet.

Like you, without a public school string program, I probably never would have learned to play the violin at all. These teachers are so wonderful and deserve all our thanks!

Interestingly, in Rolling Stone some years ago, there was an article about the decline of middle school music programs. The author interviewed a number of rock stars who all talked about how important those programs had been to them. Go figure. I also had a Mr. Peterson, though he was in South Dakota. I certainly would not have ever played if it wasn't for that program, and if he wasn't the teacher that he was. Tom, I know I certainly met a few in jr high orchestra who thought they were rock stars!