Carter in the classroom

Connecting With Your Teen Through Music

Parenting a teenager is a tough job these days. It’s so easy to lose them to their friends. But parents in Frisco have found a way to connect with their teens all over again and learn about each other in the process.

The smallest gestures can create the biggest impact. A helping hand while learning an instrument is an amazing gift, unless, that help comes from your teenager.

“It’s fun to see my mom understand it’s not as easy as it looks. She’ll be like 'that doesn’t sound right' and I’m like 'that’s because it’s hard,'” said Keya Jain.

At Frisco’s Liberty High School, students are teaching their parents how to play musical instruments. What starts out as a silent glance or gesture is exploding into refrains of respect.

“She’s very persistent, I’ve always known that, but I have a new found respect for her thought process on music,” said Keya’s mom, Rachana.

It’s called the parent orchestra and is the brainchild of teacher Victoria Lien who learned the piano from her mom. She reluctantly admits it brought them closer.

“I hope that as teachers and faculty we can get to know the kids and the parents even more,” said Lien.

That connection is all through the building. Ken Budz works in security at the school but he too joined the orchestra and invited his grandson.

“We can experience the high and lows playing the notes, the high notes and low notes. The emotion that comes with the music and we can celebrate together,” said Budz.

The parents all said they’ve learned so much about the dedication their kids have for playing these instruments and the kids are impressed at how well their parents could pick up a new skill.

“I think he’s a little too hard on himself. Some songs he’s actually been playing them pretty well,” said Keenan Serrao of his father Nolan.

It’s created a bond, not just between parent and child but between family and school. It’s a place to share challenges, laughter, and achieve success.

Next semester the parents will perform with the school’s orchestra. Parent’s will perform right alongside their child.

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