Books and Covers...

“There is no such thing as an ordinary person…”

-  David Brooks, How to Know a Person

 

As was her custom, she walked into the room early. This morning, she paused and stared into space for a moment. What happened next was anything but usual.

 

"That's Dvořák, isn't it? She said.

 

It took me a moment to gather myself.

 

“Yes, it is. How did you know?”

 

"I play the piano and love classical music," she said as casually as tossing off her jacket and heading for her seat.

 

I am in the habit of playing music before class begins. It sets a tone for students when they enter the room…a way to clear their minds. At least, it does so for me.

 

In the semester at a local junior college, I ask my students what music they listen to or what they might like to hear before class. It is one way to show respect for their musical tastes and provides me with a little insight into the culture of the young. 

 

There is little doubt that it has broadened my musical horizons. I've been exposed to Vietnamese rock and roll, Uzbekistan rap, Brazilian Indie, and my favorite, Hispanic pop. Their flavor of the day is a Puerto Rican singer/rapper named Bad Bunny. I don't understand the lyrics, but musical rhythms are universal in their appeal, and I enjoy them. 

 

There is also good science regarding the way music affects our minds. It can elicit emotional responses, regulate mood, reduce stress, and bond us socially and culturally, not to mention the pleasure it can bring. Think for a moment about music you have listened to that made you revisit your youth, making you want to jump up and dance (you know it's true - but I digress).

 

My musical interests are broad, so when students do not recommend something they are interested in, I play what I feel like. It might be country/western, South African protest, Indie, or, in the case of this particular morning, Dvořák because I find him energetic, a little whimsical, and a good mental class prepper for me.

 

Back to my coed…

Cassandra (not her real name) is a diminutive and quiet Hispanic student with long raven hair, piercing brown eyes, and a stature just a little north of five feet in height (1.5m). At the beginning of the semester, I thought she was not paying attention, as she mostly glanced down at her desk during lectures. That, as it turns out, was as wrong as my surprise at her knowledge of classical music. Her assignments were always on time, and she got 'A's on all her exams.

 

It gets better…

My classes last two and a half hours, more than any rational person could attend to the density of anatomy and physiology (or any topic for that matter). I give ten-minute breaks every forty-five minutes or so. Students usually leave the classroom for personal metabolic moments, but some stay and hang out. During that time, I get the chance to chat a little more informally with them.

 

One day, Cassandra was in a small group that stayed in the room during one of the breaks. I asked what kinds of books they read. With the significant, time-wasting effects of social media, I didn't expect much. 

Cassandra piped up, “Well, I read the classics.”

 

“So, what classics do you like to read?” I asked, unsure what to expect after learning her musical knowledge earlier.

 

"Oh, Charles Dickens, Emily Dickinson, Jane Austin. You know, writers like that," she replied with a disarming casualness.

 

“I’ll make you a deal,” I said, trying not to show my amazement at this side of her. “You recommend a book for me, and I'll suggest one for you."

 

An aside: I often ask people about books they enjoy. This practice has broadened my exposure to literature. I have gotten some great recommendations that I would never have thought of reading.

 

Cassandra recommended two books: Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey.

 

I recommended Amore Towles', A Gentleman in Moscow.

 

I must admit, I have carefully avoided books like Dracula because they are so dark…horror is not my thing. But for Cassandra’s sake, I worked my way through it. 

 

Northanger Abby, on the other hand, was a lovely nineteenth-century coming-of-age novel from the perspective of the young female protagonist Catherine Morland. It was nicely paced, and I enjoyed it. 

Without chatting about books on a break with students in the presence of Cassandra, I would never have read Austen…I would have missed another piece of her mind.

 

Is there a point here?

There are times when I have come close to losing hope for my generation and the generation in which so many of my students find themselves…extreme tribalism fueled by often damaging social media. As I look around, it seems there is less and less light around the world in the sunset of my life and the dawn of theirs.

 

And then there is Cassandra, a mind full of energy and intellect yet diminutive and quiet. It just took a little early morning pre-class music to open the 'book and turn some pages.'

 

One never knows what pearls lie in the fields of people's minds and, more amazingly, the unanticipated ‘music’ that finds them. 

- ted