I call my dad by his first name, Dennis. Dennis was a musician and a music teacher for his entire career. He retired in 1998 from teaching school, but he still plays, conducts, and teaches a handful of students privately.
His former students, myself included, would all agree that Dennis is one of the most patient and understanding teachers anyone ever had. (Yes, he used to teach music to me. A little. Usually we fought too much. He was also my boss for awhile, which worked out a lot better.) But his patience and understanding never undermined the fact that he expected the best effort one hundred percent of the time.
When his students showed up to a lesson and obviously hadn’t practiced, he usually asked them what was up. Some would claim their braces hurt them too much to practice their horns, or their homework had gotten in the way of practice time. And his uniform response was, “From now on, no excuses. Just results.” The same was true of my own studies or independent activities–though he was never cruel or mean about it, he expected the best from me, and bringing home bad grades or being excessively tardy to work was unacceptable.
So, this is my inspiration quote of the week. Enjoy!
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