[DawnsMinstrel]

I'm inclined to agree with Char. If you think about it, most of what a child does in early life is "forced." They are forced to learn to use the toilet, use utensils when eating, tie their shoes, put their coats on when they go outside in cold weather, sleep at a certain time, bathe at a certain time, brush their teeth at a certain time, wash their hands and so on.

Most of this is cultural training - not all cultures eat with utensils for example, indians use their hands. There was a time in western culture not so very long ago when it would have sounded preposterous to most people to say that all children should be taught how to read for example. And yet, among the aristocracy of the times, it was considered obligatory to learn Latin and Greek, and aristocratic women were expected to play music on keys or strings or both.

So that it sounds "strange" to us to suggest that music education should be obligatory is in my view a result of cultural bias. When my mother was young her father would tell her that reading was a waste of time. If he saw her sitting in a chair with a book he would accuse her of being lazy. See what I mean? Think of all the fathers out there - especially in the States who take a dim view of sons who don't take an interest in sports. I'm not as familiar with how seriously sports are taken in Canada, but how would a typical Canadian father feel about a son who has no interest in hockey? Am I stereotyping here? Just curious.