The Recorder in general isn't a bad instrument, though. If you hear a flute from the Baroque period, it's most likely the Recorder. It requires sophisticated technique, but since it's cheap to make, teachers use it as a teaching method without even knowing that they use the tongue to stop their breath, or that air pressure varies depending on the pitch being made. Also, there are many types of Recorders. What the children use are Soprano recorders, which have a high pitch (duh).