Learning

I'm taking an art class at the Delaware Museum, and I have a really good teacher. He comes around, looks at your work, and makes suggestions or points out problems. When he has made his comments, I am wiser than I was before. He also accompanies the class to the Museum and discusses the paintings and sculptures in a way that enhances your vision and deepens your understanding of the work.

I've taken art classes all my life, but this is the first one where I've actually learned something. In all the other art classes I have taken since becoming an adult, the teacher exhorted the students to let themselves go, do what feels good, be creative. Translation: you're a bunch of losers so you might as well enjoy yourselves painting your miserable little daubs.

Would anyone attempting to teach piano tell the student to just sit down and hit the keys and have fun? There are basics to be learned and techniques to be mastered in any endeavor. And with mastery comes a sense of satisfaction.