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<DIV>Well, here's my 2 cents......</DIV>
<DIV>When Larry Fine came out with The Piano Book, he, in effect, was looking to
educate the consumer, who then would know what to look for, and what questions
to ask, which then put the manufacturers on notice, and in the end made the
manufacturers more responsible for their end product. Why can't something
similar be done with schools of music? I put this to Larry, asking if this
was something he'd be interested in adding to his book. He thought it was
an excellent idea, but probably should be undertaken as a separate project, by
CAUT. His thoughts...
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New" size=2>My suggestion would be that CAUT should
come up with -- to the extent reasonably possible -- precise, objective
criteria for piano condition, maintenance, budget, etc. that music schools
should ideally have, and then give each school a numerical rating based on those
criteria. These ratings, along with comments, could then be published and
offered to music educators and others who influence student and parental
decisions concerning choice of school to attend. It could be updated every
few years. I would be interested in publishing such a book, or perhaps PTG
would like to.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>I truly believe that the educated consumer - the music degree seeking
student and their parents - knowing what questions to ask, knowing what to
look for, guided by some sort of "Handbook on Music Schools" in which could be
"ratings" of schools according to CAUT guidelines - they will demand and cause
more change among music schools, more quickly, than all of our foot-stomping,
rants, and emails could ever do.</DIV>
<DIV>All we need is someone willing to do the leg-work. </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Courier New" size=2></FONT> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10">Debbie
Cyr<BR>Registered Piano Technician<BR>508-202-2862
cell</FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">It's only a deal if it's where <I>you</I> want to go. Find your travel deal <A title="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" href="http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047" target="_blank"><B>here</B></A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>