Remember the classic excuse “my dog ate my homework?” Mischievous kids have always been creative in explaining why they are unable to turn in their work on time. On the other hand, have you ever heard of a parent offering an excuse because their child has turned in extra homework?

A SmartMusic educator recently sent me the following e-mail he received from the parent of a student using SmartMusic at home:

Mr. J,

I have been using David’s SmartMusic to practice my clarinet that I recently took out of my closet after 20 years. I didn’t realize that my practice time would be recorded in David’s practice record. So a portion of his practice time is mine and a portion is his. He has practiced SmartMusic for more that 45 minutes over the past week, but I do not know the exact number. I hope this doesn’t mess up the grading.

Julie

I love this e-mail. The fact that SmartMusic inspired a parent to practice for the first time in 20 years is awesome, as is the parent’s honesty and concern that her son not get credit for any work he didn’t do.

I’m pleased to report there’s a free solution to the problem of both a parent and a student sharing a copy of SmartMusic. Check out James Anderson’s post here – while he’s describing how siblings can share a SmartMusic account, it applies to parents, too.

While I’ve changed the names to respect the anonymity of all participants, I’d ask that “Mr. J” pass my encouragement on to “Julie.” In fact, I think we should encourage more parents to dust off their instruments and make a little music here and there: what a great antidote for the stress that our busy lives create!