Hi Rockhen - You seem to have an enlightened attitude (if only all teachers felt the same) and I agree with all you say. Yes the recorder is a fantastic instrument in the right hands. I've never forgotten a recital at our school by the Dolmetch family (who were based locally) - pure magic. Learning to read music is a huge advantage, of course, as long as it's secondary to playing by ear. This is because music is an aural not a visual phenomenon. If you learn from the dots first it's then very very hard to acquire the aural skills you'll need to become a fully-rounded musician. But it's relatively easy to learn to interpret written music if you already have the landscape of music in your head. Aural first and most - that's the key. And on the same subject, teachers need to understand that dyslexia can apply to manuscript as much as to words - in fact sheet music is a minefield for us sufferers. So if a kid can pick up a tune from one hearing but not follow the 'flyshit' bear that option in mind, don't give him a hard time for being lazy (I was often punished because the only explanation they could find for my lack of progress with sight-reading was that I was being deliberately obtuse) - and NEVER punish a child over issues around practicing etc. Earplugs - good idea!