Little things here and there in list postings keep poking at my values.
The latest is the conjecture that the Suzuki method may play some part
in the recent development of a disproportionate number of juvenile female
Asian violinists.  Impatient readers may interpret this posting as a troll,
bit it is not intended so.

I wonder how humanely parental it is to pressure children to abandon
pursuits natural to their age in order to devote themselves to the ordeal
of mastering a musical instrument.  It would seem it is more important to
become a whole adult than to become a prodigy.

The work of a child is to play.  Play is a serious business by which the
mind and character and morals are formed, as is the body as well.  It is
business best transacted with peers.  Though adults and their values have
a crucial part in the development of a successful human being, so too do
childish juvenile peers in the crucibles of childhood and adolescence.

It is rather amazing to me that the well-meaning would behave so
benightedly as to discourage or prevent their sons from sports or even
girls at puberty.  The historical practice of fostering passivity in girls
is likewise unwise if not immoral.  Surely the human mind and body is an
instrument to played by the owner, not by others.  I can discover naught
but spiteful custom warranting a second, less vigorous and less autonomous
path for girls.

I am sensible of the argument that the results justify the means.  "You
will thank me someday for the abuses I inflict on you now."  It is the
binding of feet.

Doug Purl