My Approach to Teaching
"My primary goal as a piano teacher is to create a climate in which my students can experience continual musical, intellectual, and emotional growth, and to become increasingly dispensable to them in the process. Everything I do as a teacher, and every other teaching goal I have, relates directly to the first, most basic objective – to help my students grow by and for themselves."
-- Frances Clark
The way I look at my students is as follows:
-
First, they are individuals created by God.
-
Second, I want them to all be musicians.
-
And last but not least, I will teach them to express that music through the piano
Hannah Mowrey of Redeemer Seminary shared, "Singing and playing praises to the Lord is something that we will do for eternity, so in many ways when we sing and play music here on earth, we are "'practicing for eternity.'"
SO here's another way I'm looking at it (crediting Greg Howlett with this set of ideas):
-
I want your children to be proficient. I don't want them to be mediocre musicians.
-
I want your children to develop a love for music that sticks with them their entire lives.
-
I want your children to be useful musicians. I want them to be functional in real life music, especially in their churches. In other words, I want them to effectively serve God with their music.
"I would teach children music, physics, and philosophy; but most importantly music, for the patterns in music and all the arts are the keys to learning." -- Plato
Ten Non-Musical Skills that Children Can Learn from Piano Lessons:
1. Creativity
2. Confidence
3. Problem Solving
4. Perseverance
5. Focus
6. Non-Verbal Communication
7. Receiving Constructive Feedback
8. Collaboration
9. Dedication
10. Accountability