Problem-solving in music class

The Summers-Knoll music classroom, supplied with lots of pitched and unpitched instruments, allows for much decision-making on the part of young musicians. Such problems they face may be to decide what word to play their chosen timbre on (instrument sound}, which rests-if any- to play a sound on, what rhythm pattern to use and how to orchestrate it, which bass xylophone technigue to use, where skips, steps and repeated tones will be used in improvization, whether to use eighth notes, half notes, quarter notes,(syncopation comes soon!) or sixteenth notes to express the desired musical effect, and so forth.

Another activity we will explore is trying to uncover the composer's intention without knowing the title of a piece. This can lead to much discussion about dynamics (loud-soft, tempo, for example), instruments used, and whether a major or minor key is used. In preparation for this activity, Susan's class read the short book, "Window Music", prior to listening to "Little Train of Caipura" by Vilia-Lobos. The first page shows no dialogue, only a picture of a girl and a woman waving goodbye to an elderly couple at a train station, while the last page also has no dialogue, only the same girl and woman walking at a different train station. But now, a man carrying the woman's suitcase is walking with them, with his arm around the woman.
Here at Summers-Knoll, I heard such a variety of explanations as to whom the man is!
The first was, of course, that the man is the child's father who came to the station to pick up his family. But it didn't stop there, as I thought it would. Peter chimed in, "OR, the father was on the train with them, but because he didn't buy his ticket at the same time as the mom and girl, he had to buy his at the station, and then sit in a diffent place on the train and try to find them at the station when they arrived."
And more... "No, the man is the taxi driver carrying the suitcase to the taxi."

"No, he isn't, because taxi drivers don't put their arm around strangers."

Something tells me we won't have only one interpretation of our musical listening selections!