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By Dr. Haruko Kataoka
Matsumoto, Japan
November 12, 2003
Translated by Mayumi Yunus
Transcribed from videotape by Vicki Seil
Edited by Karen Hagberg
Forgive me for not helping this time. I have not been feeling well. It is because I have become old and tired. The 10-Piano Concert in Sacramento was very difficult. I tried so hard to make it to the concerts. I had no time to rest. When I returned to Japan it was very hot, and I have not been well since the end of September.

I want to say that I worry when I see you all taking notes. [Editor's note: Dr. Kataoka discouraged note-taking and encouraged teachers instead to listen intently during lectures and lessons.] Teaching children-not just teaching them piano-is such a very special thing. It is totally different from teaching adults. We need to understand what is important-what requires the most care and attention. Dr. Suzuki was the first person to realize that childhood education is the most important education. The education received in childhood determines the child's future.

University education, of course, is different, and it is probably necessary for some things. Until now, conventional wisdom tells us that it is all right to have a mediocre teacher for small children, and that students should go to better teachers as they progress. Dr. Suzuki realized the error of this kind of thinking. The most important thing is childhood education. Teachers for young children must be the best teachers. In college, in a music conservatory, it is also a good thing to have a good teacher, but at this level we are talking about a completely different job--completely different work. Teachers for children are so much more important, and Dr. Suzuki was the first to realize this.