“A student is almost always feeling motivated to practice, if he leaves his lesson feeling capable”
Frances Clark
Have you ever noticed a connection between how much practice a student does at home and how well their previous lesson went?
One of my least favourite subjects at school was maths. I definitely leaned towards the more creative subjects like music (obviously!) or English. We had two maths teachers. Teacher A was great and would break concepts down into easier bite sized chunks that made sense. If she gave out homework I would be happy doing it because she had set us up for success during the lesson.
If, on the other hand, teacher B gave homework then I’d get home, stare at it for a bit, feel lost and give up. In the lesson he would pretty much talk at us while we sat silently listening. There wasn’t a great deal of interaction – no bite size chunks like teacher A – and he wasn’t at all approachable to ask for help.
My music teachers were all like teacher A. I would want to practice because not only had they built up a good rapport with me, they also set things up for success in the practice room. They made sure I understood during the lesson (music was never of a level that felt too hard to master) and that I also had the tools to work things out by myself when necessary.
So this is why I like the quote above and it is something I always strive for in my own teaching. Students are much more likely to practice if they supported by their teacher and feel “capable” with tasks that are manageable and fully understood before they step out of the music room.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this quote.
