About two weeks ago in my beginning music theory class, I decided to have students assign their own homework. Previously, I would tell them they had to get to a certain point, I’d draw a stop sign and hope they’d finish. This never worked.
So two weeks ago I decided to make a change and allow students to pick their own homework as an experiment.
Coincidentally, at the same time, I began to read Charles Duhigg’s new book – Smarter, Better, Faster. In chapter one, he discusses fascinating studi...
A parent who doesn’t normally attend her child’s lesson came into the studio the other day. There is always an awkward air in the room when this happens. Obviously the parent is in the lesson for a purpose. The few times in the past that this happened with other parents, the outcome was always one of the following:
“I think we will take a break from piano.”
“Piano lessons are a bit too expensive.”
“We are moving away and can no longer come.”
The entire lesson was one of most uncomfortable I h...
When I first started teaching, I took over a studio of eight students that was left by someone who moved away. From day one, I was shocked that students in my new studio would walk into their lesson as the other student walked out and had no awareness of the other student. It was like the other student in the studio did not exist. These are students who have seen each other for months or years on a weekly basis and didn’t even have an idea of the other student’s name.
Fast-forward to today an...
In the education world, we teachers are so focused on results and I just wanted to share a message I recently sent to my studio:
Early on in my music education, I believed that doing well in recitals and competitions mattered most. Great performances made my mother proud, my teacher proud and it felt amazing to hear from other parents or judges that I was a ‘promising musician’. “The pursuit of perfection” – this was the maxim that I held as a child, but as I approached the professional level...
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