Talking to each other

I think one of the biggest problems, and also one of the easiest to fix, is not talking to other people. In education especially, it seems that conversation is one of our biggest failings. Why?

Today, I had a conversation with my piano teacher. We talked about the studio's seminar time and how it was used. I voiced an opinion about really enjoying an activity we did one night, and that got the conversation rolling! Within 10 min. we had a whole new plan for seminar next semester. Now, is it perfect? I hardly think so, but it's a starting point! Why did it take so long to get going?

I can't help but think how our seminar would be different if I would have started this conversation by mentioning my opinion sooner. Why don't we mention our opinions?

We have these things called evaluations that are basically obsolete because... no one reads them! If we are really in the business of improving and learning, talking to each other is one of the most important aspects of this learning process!!

It was amazing to me how far we advanced in a simple 10 min. conversation. I felt like we each understood each other a little more and we got excited to try some new ideas. Now, what bout my lesson? I just missed out on 10 min. of piano instruction right? Wrong. This was part of my instruction, talking with my professor in order to come to a deeper understanding of piano and how to work as a seminar group to improve. Why isn't all teaching like this? Why can't we realize when it's necessary to stop following schedules and bells and rules just because a piece of paper or a clock tells us to? If we would just stop following the path and for a few minutes step off and talk about it, I think we would all be a lot happier.