Roswell, Georgia: Land of Suzuki, Peaches, & Heat

Roswell, Georgia is a beautiful place. It's over 90 degrees every day, has fresh fruit, and nice drivers. It is a very developed, young community. For you left brained readers, here are some statistics of its economics/demographics from 2009:

55% of households are married couple families
51% of people attained a bachelor's degree or higher
29% are under the age of 18
27% are age 25-44

Money Magazine has ranked Roswell, Georgia #76 in best places to live (2010), saying that "it has some of the best public schools in the state, the lowest crime rate in the region, and a myriad of outdoor activities..."

Forbes ranks Roswell #10 in America's 25 Best Places to Move (July 2009).

Travel + Leisure Magazine ranked Roswell #6 in Coolest Suburbs Worth a Visit. "Located 20 minutes north of downtown Atlanta, on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Roswell has been winning over young urbanites (the population's average age is 35) with its mix of Old South and the culture and food of a cosmopolitan city. This bike-friendly, walkable community has an established restaurant base, exquisitely repurposed 19th-century architecture, and an evolving art scene that includes three theaters."

In addition, Roswell ranked 3rd (2006) in Frommer's - Best Places to Raise Your Family: The Top 100 Affordable Communities in the U.S.



From the statistics, you can see that Roswell is an ideal location for teaching Suzuki. There are many young families who see the importance of learning music and can afford its costs. Also, did I mention that they have great weather there?

Here is it's weekend forecast:

...pretty toasty, but ideal for a person who doesn't retain heat very well.

 <-------------- This is Canton Street, only a half mile from where I was training.

I have been turning into quite a foodie since my summer travels. I like to try popular restaurants where I can eat healthily. Each day I eat out once, typically at lunch when the prices are cheaper. My favorite restaurants are on Canton Street, which is at the city's heart. Most of them have outdoor seating next to the bricked sidewalks.

I typically do not eat meat unless it is organic, locally raised, or from the ocean. Therefore, I opted for vegetarian options most of the time. The following were my 3 favorite restaurants:

1.   Roux -- Black Bean Burger with side of Jalapeno Cheddar Grits

2.   Zest --  California and Rock 'n Roll Sushi

3.   Ceviche -- Veggie Burrito with mushrooms and extra avocado



This week I have been studying Suzuki Book 4 with Teri Einfeldt. She is an instructor at Hartt School in Connecticut. Teri is a well-educated professional musician with good knowledge and experience in the material we are covering. It has been interesting watching all the different students in our observations because they all learn so differently. Some learn well by addressing them with challenges. Others need more hands-on, kinesthetic learning, while some need to think through how to make a certain technique work well.


Today we observed a video during lunch called How Difficult Can This Be? from a PBS broadcast by Richard Lavoie. It teaches how learning disabled thinkers process and handle typical class environments by taking teachers and creating a scenario that handicaps their thinking process.
Example from the film: The teachers all sat in a circle, playing the game where you build a story with each individual adding one sentence. Each teacher was able to clearly communicate what he was thinking and wanted to contribute. Then they had to play the game again with one rule: no words with the letter "n." The teachers had a much harder time processing what they were wanting to say, which resulted in a lot of hesitation and stuttering. The posed instructor then pressured the "student" to hurry up in giving his answer. This then caused the "student" much more frustration, and decreased the speed of his processing even more. Whenever one of the teachers used an "n" in a word, every single one of the others either laughed or called her out on it. This is actually a typical trait of a learning disabled child because they want to point out that others make mistakes too, when they're so frequently called out on their own.

Interesting.


Well, tomorrow is my last day of training. I will be headed out to visit my aunt after a final lunch with my fellow trainees on Canton Street, then I'll be back in South Bend for a couple days.

Then....
Next Stop: Chicago!