At the end of every teaching day, I’m exhausted. Just like any other job you love, you’re depleated emotionally, physically and mentally. Teaching music is particularly rewarding since you see your students grow and develop over the years. But what I find incredibly rewarding is when I see students use the skills or mindset they have from piano, in their life outside piano.
We often give presentations in theory class and it’s always the new students who feel most uncomfortable.
Amy was a new student last year and when her mom signed her up for theory, she didn’t know that presentations would be part of class. Amy was shy and she still is. But over the first few months Amy heard back from her classmates on what she did well and on what she could do to improve her presentations. By the end of the first term Amy was one of the better presenters in class. She would smile often and even make jokes in her presentations.
Fast forward a year and Amy is not only one of the top theory students in our studio, but she is easily one of the top musicians. She’s more confident than students her age and she approaches every performance and test as though she’s got it.
It’s the conditions and experiences that we create as teachers as that change the outcome of many of these student’s lives. How will it impact Amy’s future now that she knows she can talk and perform in front of an audience? What opportunities will she receive as a result of being more confident? What problems will she be able to solve as a result of being able to overcome fear?
That’s the reward for teachers, knowing that the student’s skills or mindset they have gained from piano can change their life for the better.
The joy of teaching is in the journey.
JT