You have to be careful what you say. A few years ago, I did a song-writing class for our daughter's middle school kids... turned out we had 45 minutes to write a song and get it on video. It was a fun class project.
Our daughter said that some of her current students want to learn to play guitar. She teaches math and science, btw. I said, "It is good to know that young people still want to learn how to play guitar. I guess if this whole being retired thing doesn't work out for me, I can busk on a street corner or give lessons like I did back in college for 25¢ per student, per class. (Yeah, that was a long time ago.)
She said, "You gave guitar lessons? Would you do that for my class?"
I said, "You know we are only here for 2 months, right?"
Apparently, she took that as "Yes." I got a call from her yesterday while Joan and I were grocery shopping... "You weren't joking about guitar lessons, were you? I mentioned that to my kids, and have permission from my principal for after school lessons..."
We already "volunteer" in her class for special projects (not sure it is volunteering when you are asked to do it) - today we will be working with the kids on building Gravity Cruisers (a science project sponsored by GM)... and apparently next week I'll be doing guitar lessons two days a week. Another "volunteer" project.
I will have to brush up on teaching techniques and come up with "age and situation appropriate" song choices. We'll see how much guitar interest there is. She sent permission slips home yesterday (she doesn't put things off).
While visiting with her last night, there was the obligatory "these are kids, not boat crew, so you have to watch your language and sarcasm..." discussion. Contrary to popular belief, I can behave in public when necessary. I do kinda enjoy making her sweat, though.
Does this mean I have to learn some Taylor Swift songs?? I really need to watch what I say
around my kid, not just her students. I did lay down some ground rules: let's put a cap on it, say the first 5 that sign up; they have to have a guitar that they can use at home to practice; and most importantly: she will be there with me. I would need a chair and a whip to face these kids on my own.
Yes, kidding. We haven't met this class yet - today is our first day with them. We've been doing this work in her classes for a decade now, and the kids have been good. She drives home the point to them that we are
volunteering for this - treat them good so they'll want to come back.
No, this post isn't "carbon fiber related" other than the fact that I'll be using my X10 for this class. I feel like this CF sub-forum is a tight enough group that we can share... anyone know any 2-chord songs that 13 year olds might recognize?
