I
just got back from teaching and the whole way home I contemplated the dilemma
„how much can you challenge students?“.
I
have some girls from Mexico and they knew/know no notes! They can’t read music.
I have tried to encourage them with my Note Mastery Challenge and the button
they could get as a reward/prize. I gave them flash cards, we did our 60 second
challenge. But they are going back to Mexico not one bit better than they came
over.
Do I
need to say they didn’t practice, either?
I
love to teach my students how to practice and how to solve problems that pop up
in the pieces they are learning. I don’t give them all the answers but I do
help if I notice they are getting really confused. Yet I’ve had some kids give up the instrument because it was
„too hard“.
Should
I have pampered them by showing every note and letting them copy? Essentially
playing by rote. Those kids can’t help themselves at all when they are stumped
at home because they can’t read what the music wants to tell them.
How
much challenge can kids take? When is the point where I softly give them a hand
until they can stand on their on two feet.
Some
kids act like they don’t know what’s going on and the teachers help them very
quickly. These kids never learn to learn independently.
I have
some students who enjoy a good old „wild challenge“ and it’s fun to see them
grow as young musicians.
After
so many years of teaching, I still ask myself the question: How much success
must/should I „guarantee“? Should I make their learning so easy that they
hardly have to think themselves?
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