Are lessons for your kid worth it?

One of the great debates in which parents engage is whether or not to 'encourage' or force their kids to have lessons of various kinds. There are many cogent arguments to both sides of the debate. I was one of those encouraged with a variety of lessons from the time I started school. Primarily, lessons were a supplemental activity to keep me busy and challenged.

Both of my grandmothers 'encouraged' everyone in their families to learn to play the piano. One also wanted them all to learn a second instrument. As a result, when I was in the first grade, I started piano lessons. I practiced at least once or twice each week and slowly progressed. I would have moved faster if I had practiced as suggested.

I also started dance lessons. Judging by the records we brought home for practice, we weren't very good, but we had a lot of fun. When we moved, I pushed to get lessons again as soon as possible.

By the time I was ten, I was playing Bach and my youngest sister would sit down after I finished practicing and play my pieces by ear. She was 3. She wasn't even taking lessons yet. I was jealous of that ability because I couldn't do that if my life depended on it. She inherited that gift from our dad who also played by ear. When she was older, she took lessons and learned to also play from the music.

In fourth grade, I wanted to play an instrument in the band. Of course, I wanted something noisy-either the trumpet or drums. I was encouraged to join the choir instead and given guitar lessons.

Once I was ten, most of my lessons were near each other, so I spent the entire afternoon there. At times, I resented that I could never do anything else on those Thursday afternoons. However, I still loved doing them.

Studies have been done that show that learning music encourages specific kinds of development in the brain. I know that I saw connections in music that I also made in language and in math. I am sure it changed the way I processed the world.

Along with dance, I took drama lessons. These were to channel what my parents saw as overly dramatic emotions. I think I was just more expressive of my feelings than my parents expected. However, these lessons helped me learn to be comfortable in front of a group or performing.

Later, I took voice lessons for a few years because I love to sing. They significantly improved my singing voice for which I am very grateful.

What I find interesting is that I have been lucky enough to use all the lessons I got to make a living. During college, I sang in a couple of local pubs, accompanying myself on guitar. This was one of the better paying jobs I had during school. I gave piano and guitar lessons for many years. I worked at a dance studio. I taught music at a private school.

So, I was one of the lucky ones. Besides keeping me busy and challenged, the lessons came in handy for feeding me and my family. If that had never been the case, I would still be grateful. Lessons helped me learn discipline, endurance, and the value of hard work. Those have all been valuable skills.