How refreshing

In May, I attended a piano recital where 16 young musicians shared their talents and hard work. These young people have been practicing and practicing and this was the day to show what they had learned. That being said, there were a few mistakes.

The refreshing part was that when a mistake was made there was not one parent, grandparent, brother, sister or friend that stood up and yelled, "What are you doing, hit the right key, you have been practicing that song for months, don't you know how to play it yet?" Or something like, "My kid can play that better than they did!" What I did notice, was when each performer was finished, a hardy applause was given by all.

In my opinion this is exactly how every youth activity should be handled. Everyone should be supportive and positive and thankful for the opportunity to share these moments with our youth. As the director of the Kingman-Norwich Recreation Commission, I would ask for all to remember how we act and react is molding our children. Being positive and having good sportsmanship should be second nature. We should not have to practice these virtues. Try this: when a child on the "other" team makes a good play; clap your hands and tell them nice play. Let's support all children.

Mark K. Rogers, CPRP

Kingman, Kan.

COPYRIGHT 2005 National Recreation and Park Association
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group