[Rhodes22-list] Investment Advice

[Herb Parsons]

Slim,

Surely you've noticed by now that children learn most anything better 
than adults (assuming the lessons being taught are within the grasp of 
the age group.)

As we adults grow, we "learn" certain things that impair our other 
learning abilities. Things that kids haven't caught on to yet.

We learn to fear failure.
We learn to only attempt only what we're sure we can do.
We learn to be embarrased to say "I don't know", or "how do you do that".
We learn that we have our own ideas about "a better way" to do just 
about anything

I'd rather teach a kid just about anything over an adult.


Steven Alm wrote:
> Brad,
>
> Pretty interesting article except I don't get how/why it's attributed to
> Oswald Spengler who died in 1936.  Asia Times also has Spengler writing
> about Obama and Pope Benedict. (?)  A Spengler offspring?
>
> I'm not surprised that Chinese piano students outnumber Americans by such a
> wide margin.  Just walk the halls of practice studios of any music school
> and it seems every other one is Asian.  I don't agree however with
> "Spengler" that only "elite" American parents nudge their kids toward
> music.
>
> Funny, I hated piano lessons when I was a kid.  That's not to say I didn't
> love music but I rebelled against the structure and the discipline.  How
> very American of me!  But somehow I managed to get through lessons on the
> sax, drums, trumpet and cello.  Where I excelled the most as a teen was on
> the guitar--no lessons, just self-taught.  I decided that guitar players
> were chick magnets so I practiced my ass off.
>
> "The Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams sums it up:
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuf2YtXs7ak
>
> I'll also mention that all "accomplished" players have a more than normal
> amount of obsessive/compulsive syndrome.  It takes a lot of OCS to sit there
> and play one little phrase over and over and over until you get it right and
> then play it over and over some more.   It also takes a lot of patience to
> live with some one who does that every day!   8-)
>
> Anyway, we music teachers have known for years that music students do better
> on tests, period.  The study of a musical instrument does good things for
> the brain especially in youngsters.  Brain dendrites are the "branches" or
> "fingers" that connect one part of the brain to others.  Dendrites are key
> to cross-disciplinary understanding.  For example connecting micro-motor
> skills with aesthetics.  Studying music has been shown to speed up the
> growth of dendrites in children.  We've been trying to get that across to
> school boards and legislators for years but they keep cutting our funding.
>
> Right now I have about a dozen college-age piano students and I have to say
> they're developing noticeably slower than the fifth and sixth graders I used
> to teach.  (A side note:  one of my students is Asian and is doing no better
> than the rest--but then again he's American and not Chinese)  I would never
> dissuade any adult from starting piano lessons but they would have been much
> better off making that choice a lot earlier.
>
> Class dismissed.
>
> Mr. Slim
>
> On Thu, Dec 11, 2008 at 7:49 AM, Brad Haslett <flybrad at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>   
>> Bill,
>>
>> The thing about Wal-Mart money going to China gets worse -
>>
>> http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JL02Ad01.html
>>
>> I posted the link instead of the story because there's so many good
>> links buried within the story.  Slim, you listening?  Go East Young
>> Man!
>>
>> Brad
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 10, 2008 at 6:05 PM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>     
>>> *''The federal government is sending each of us a $600 rebate. If we
>>> spend that money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China . If we spend it
>>> on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to
>>>       
>> India.
>>     
>>> If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico , Honduras and
>>> Guatemala . If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany . If we
>>> purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the
>>> American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to
>>> spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products
>>> still produced in US. I've been doing my part."
>>>
>>> Bill Effros
>>> *
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-- 
Herb Parsons