<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated 4/25/01 6:11:04 PM Central Daylight Time,
<BR>pianolover88@hotmail.com writes:
<BR>
<BR>
<BR><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Passing the exams makes one a better person.
<BR>>
<BR>>Willem
<BR>
<BR>There are PLENTY of people who pass the driving exam, and because of
<BR>irresponsibility or negligence go out and kill either themselves or
<BR>innocent
<BR>others on the road, so just passing a test doesn't make you a better
<BR>person;
<BR>it's your actions that count. We all know that there are plenty of
<BR>illiterate High school graduates out there!
<BR>
<BR>Terry Peterson
<BR></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
<BR>What I am talking about is the process of taking the exam. A teenager who
<BR>passes the driving exam feels a little better about him/herself, because at
<BR>the moment, he/she has achieved a certain level of competence in the eyes of
<BR>the state. What that teenager does with the privilege of driving is totally
<BR>another matter. But at the moment, there is great joy and elation. In the
<BR>process of learning how to drive and then passing the driving exam, the
<BR>teenager has learned something.
<BR>
<BR>I'll say it again, passing the exam makes one a better person. That doesn't
<BR>mean I am accident free, or even that I can even read. (Well, I guess you
<BR>have to know how to read to pass any exam, but that's besides the point.) I
<BR>can honestly say that every one to whom I have given the exam came away
<BR>knowing a little more about tuning, repairing, or regulating a piano,
<BR>including me. The point is, until you have attempted to take the exams,
<BR>you'll never know what I am talking about.
<BR>
<BR>By the way, as Jim more or less pointed out, passing the exam at 80% isn't
<BR>the end of the learning road. It only shows that one is capable of tuning and
<BR>repairing a piano to a standard the PTG has set to become an RPT. It doesn't
<BR>make that person the best piano technician in town.
<BR>
<BR>To all Associates who have never taking any of the exams, at least take the
<BR>written exam. It, in itself, is a learning experience. It is not as easy as
<BR>you might think, and best of all, it's free.
<BR>
<BR>Willem
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