Anything is possible with God...
Matthew 19:26
Today was a sad day for me as a teacher. I had a student throw in the towel with a stubbornness that saddened me. This kid has struggled since the beginning of the year, mostly because of an unwillingness to put in the necessary work to learn the music. It is difficult, to say the least, to perform a song in public if you are not willing to learn it in private. All appeals on my part to spend a little more time on the music fell on deaf ears, and the first recital was a disaster for this student.
I had hoped that this second nine weeks would prove to be different - that there would be a settling in and settling down. I gave all of my students a pep talk prior to the Christmas vacation, reminding them that the next recital was two weeks after school resumed, and if they did not keep up with their rehearsals and music memorization during the break, they would have to pay the piper come January. When it came time today for this teenager to rehearse, it quickly became clear that my warning had not been heeded.
I hate to see any student go down in flames when just a little effort to the contrary would make such a huge difference. This is definitely a case, however, that proves true one of my father's favorite proverbs: You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. I can offer all the help in the world, but at some point, the other party much reach out and meet me half way.
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