Essay On Mr Fouchey
Alexander Pope once said: “To err is human, to forgive divine.”. He was trying to express the idea that everybody makes mistakes, and that it can be difficult to forgive them. Before a mistake is made, however, there must be some form of recognition that an error was made. Otherwise, one cannot know that what he did was wrong. Unfortunately, this recognition is usually in the form of criticism and often is difficult to accept. My English teacher, Mr. Fouchey, has a small sticker near the front of his classroom that reads “Criticism, it’s not for the weak”, meaning that a strong character is vital to accepting criticism and learning from it. In order to improve, criticism is crucial. One must be able to accept criticism not only from others, but also from themselves through self-evaluation. During my sophomore year, I decided that I wanted to perform a piano solo at the Michigan School Band and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) Solo and Ensemble event. This is an event where band students perform either by themselves or with accompaniments a musical composition of their choice. An adjudicator analyzes and rates the students’ performances. My piano solo performance,
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Sonatina by Muzio Clementi, received a division two. This is equivalent to a B grade. I felt that I had fallen short of my expectations, and was angry about the adjudicator’s decision. I refused to play the piece again for weeks. However, one day I decided to read my performance review and practice each of my weak points individually. Fortunately, my performance drastically improved. Sometimes, there is no one that can provide criticism.
When this happens, one must be willing and able to criticize himself in order to improve. Often times, I find myself learning from mistakes while driving. For instance, I was traveling in the right lane of I-94 and I decided that I needed to pass a slow-moving truck. So, I activated my left blinker, looked over my shoulder, checked all of the mirrors, and smoothly transitioned into the other lane. Unfortunately, a car pulled up out of an exit into the left lane when I was not looking. I barely saw it out of my peripheral vision before quickly pulling back into my own lane. After that near-fatal experience, I am sure to check multiple times before changing lanes. Instead of receiving a report of my errors, I had to criticize myself and my
mistake.
Sonatina by Muzio Clementi, received a division two. This is equivalent to a B grade. I felt that I had fallen short of my expectations, and was angry about the adjudicator’s decision. I refused to play the piece again for weeks. However, one day I decided to read my performance review and practice each of my weak points individually. Fortunately, my performance drastically improved. Sometimes, there is no one that can provide criticism.
When this happens, one must be willing and able to criticize himself in order to improve. Often times, I find myself learning from mistakes while driving. For instance, I was traveling in the right lane of I-94 and I decided that I needed to pass a slow-moving truck. So, I activated my left blinker, looked over my shoulder, checked all of the mirrors, and smoothly transitioned into the other lane. Unfortunately, a car pulled up out of an exit into the left lane when I was not looking. I barely saw it out of my peripheral vision before quickly pulling back into my own lane. After that near-fatal experience, I am sure to check multiple times before changing lanes. Instead of receiving a report of my errors, I had to criticize myself and my
mistake.