Resolution

[beldarzfixon]

No problem, they told him. You have very well-behaved students, they said.
Yet they are still middle-schoolers, full of fidgeting and shuffling, murmers and whispers with each other, or lost in their own individual worlds, even though the bell to begin class rang over a minute ago.

And the tacher barely able to speak above a whisper.

Everyone has

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

I love this! What age are these students?

[beldarzfixon]

I had them be Middle School -- reputably the hardest kids to teach, ironically -- so about "tweens" (12ish)

[nikkiii_brown]

Very creative. Makes me miss choir class in high school.

[beldarzfixon]

Thanks!

[static_abyss]

I love your narrator, and his quick thinking. I shared this with my sister because she's a teacher, and she says she wished her students were so easily calmed.

[beldarzfixon]

Sadly, a work of fiction =)

[i_love_freddie]

I liked this.

[beldarzfixon]

Thanks!

[alexanderscttb]

To me this seemed to illustrate the interestingly psychological effect that music has.

[beldarzfixon]

The original story I heard was to illustrate that point. Even among those not musically trained, we instinctively know major chords are "happy" and minor chords are "sad" and our perception of pattern likes things to complete their cycle. When a pattern you recognize stops short, it triggers that primitive-brain memory of "wait, the birds stopped singing, danger is here" and even modern humans feel tension. Of course, the story by the music prof was about a music class, so any student would know what that last note was.
I don't specify the class here, but plenty of kids have had at least basic piano, and there was likely at least one "Schroeder" in the room.

[alexanderscttb]

Very cool! Thank you for taking the time to elaborate.