machines

Read an interesting article from NPR the other day about how technology is now eliminating higher-paying jobs in the work force like bank tellers, junior positions at law and accounting firms, and sometimes whole floors of insurance workers because the software being used by companies now can compute or do research faster and more accurately than any number of human beings.

And to be honest, it just made me sad.  It reminds me of the old movies that were made in times where they could only dream of making machines that would take over the world.  And now it's actually happening, though not in the way we expected.

And it made me realize that what I do and what I'm teaching my kids is invaluable.

Especially considering that the frequency of us sitting at home on our laptops or iPhones all day has dramatically risen in the past year or two as more and more people quit less meaningful jobs or lose them to the recession.  Myself included.  I declined a grad school candidacy because it was just too expensive.  And I've spent a lot of time being productive (whether real or imagined) this last year on my laptop.

But it gives me hope when I think about my students.  When it comes to piano, they're learning how to work hard at something and feel good about their own progress, how to interact with and enjoy others (like their teacher or duet partners), and how to delight in an activity that doesn't involve a microchip at all -- all of which are quickly becoming lost arts, but ones that will be highly valuable to them as they continue to grow and develop into real and authentic adults.  It makes me really grateful for their parents, who support that (and me!) and push their kids to do the best that they can while they still have the opportunity.

I tell my kids all the time that they are human children and not machines.  Nobody expects them to do things perfectly.  There's a reason I say that a lot.  They need to hear that while they're still young and their minds are being shaped so they can fight that lie with truth when they get older and somebody does try to make them into a machine.

Just made me think about that on this gray November morning.  That's all.