My teaching philosophy is to make meaningful connections and give a lifetime love of music to my students

As a private piano and music teacher, I have really seen the importance of this philosophy and goal in just a year of teaching. When I was deciding to become a music teacher around 9th or 10th grade, my piano teacher at the time said something very important to me. I cannot remember exactly what she said, but it was something along the lines of 

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“Most of your students will only take lessons for a year or two. Maybe longer. But most will not become concert pianists. My goal is to have fun and give them a positive experience with music that they will carry with them for the rest of their life. I want them to think back and have a good memory associated with piano lessons.”

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When she said that to me, I was a bit surprised. I had never thought about piano lessons this way before. The longer I thought about her words, the more that they made sense to me. And then in my senior year, I started teaching students who weren’t family members and I really saw what she meant. I have a lot of younger students. I began to realize the importance of making our lessons fun, colorful, and engaging. Music is so much more than notes on a page. It is a whole language of sounds and notes.

 

Adapting your teaching to individual students

As I have been teaching, I noticed a few things. Firstly: It is hard for young students to sit still. When I noticed this, I began adapting to them and what they needed. I have done everything from having them walk through a child-size “board game” answering questions or finding matching terms on paper plates spread throughout the room. Sometimes, if I am talking and they are having trouble paying attention, I will give them a fidget toy. That always helps. Secondly: They will not practice or do well at piano lessons if they are bored or struggling. I think we can all relate to this. It is hard for students who are younger to be motivated. Whenever I notice that they are bored or having trouble, I try to fix that as quickly as I can. Sometimes it is as simple as playing a music game or breaking down what they are learning into smaller chunks. I plan to use this skill in my own music classroom. I think teaching private lessons has really helped me know what to look for in students. Lastly: They just want to have fun. I feel the same way as a teacher! Why don’t we focus more on connection and fun in our teaching and classrooms? Why do we feel that being super strict and serious all the time will produce the musicians that we want? Do we really think they will stick with music if they feel like they are never good enough or if they are never having success? There are many other things I have learned and seen but those are just a few of the most important ones to me.

The type of teacher I want to be

I want to be the type of teacher whom my students love and feel comfortable being around. I want them to enjoy music class so much! I want it to be the thing they look forward to. I want to be able to give them the same amazing experience with music that I was so fortunate to have and be given. It does not matter who they are; everyone should have a chance to fall in love with music and learn how special it can be to them. I want to be the type of teacher that is happy to be there and radiates happiness to all of my students. I want to be the type of teacher that my students deserve; someone who will be fair but kind, honest but loving, and have expectations but expectations that they can achieve.

 

What I want for my classroom community

I want to have a positive classroom community where we all help each other and encourage each other as we learn music together. I think the best way to do that is to tell them about my expectations from day one, to be a good role model, and to play games and songs that encourage teamwork and team building. As musicians in a classroom, I think the importance of working together is so important and it is something they can carry with them and use throughout their life, not only when they are making music. 

In conclusion, music is important, and we need to make sure that our students are enrolled in music classes and activities. As a teacher, I want to make sure that I push my students to do their best while still making room for meaningful connections and a fun environment.