Kids need resilience. Heck, adults need resilience, too. I don't think there's any debate about that.
For those who aren't sure what I mean by resilience, I mean that ability to deal with problems without shutting down or freaking out.
The ability to handle adversity creatively. And, become stronger on the other side.
The question is, how do we develop resilience? How do we practice resilience?
It turns out, music lessons are really great for that. Because it allows us to practice our resilience in microdoses (a term I heard for the first time today and thought, "Hey, this sounds like a great blog post concept!").
What better way to deal with problem-solving and frustration than working with the complexity that is music on a daily basis?
The stakes are low; you won't die if you fail (though people with exceptionally low resilience may disagree).
You can take a break when you want.
You can ask for help.
And best of all, you can do it in controlled bits on a regular basis. Over time, kids' resilience grows and they're able to handle life's other challenges with grace.
Think of it like those stories you hear about people taking tiny doses of poison to become immune to it over time.
Same thing.
Minus the possible death part.