TEACHING PARENTS THE VALUE OF STRUGGLE – AND HOW IT’S HELPING
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Parent support is very necessary for young beginner level piano students – to see that kids practise daily and to see that they use the homework book and follow instructions.
Unfortunately, parents often use this time to show their child what is correct (instead of showing them what they have forgotten to read, to find the answer themselves.) And that’s a problem, because that stops the student from thinking.
I think it’s because parents sometimes think the goal is to ‘achieve’ or ‘do something right’ and don’t realise that quality learning is not just about whether a child ‘get’s it’ but also about ‘how the child reaches there‘
Children are often learning by rote in schools, and it’s very common for children with no learning disabilities to be slow at reasoning at first, simply because it’s new.
So, when parents attend class with their young beginner kids, I’m demonstrating teaching techniques to them, and at the end, I’m explaining why I take so much time with a small little thing – why I’m asking the student to find the answers – why I’m making the student read the lesson book or theory book and think – why I’m teaching young kids to run around between playing pieces………And how this helps the child focus and foster’s independence in learning, and studying. It starts with piano class, and flows into other areas of the child’s life.
I’m also explaining that having fun, jumping around and running around is a part of piano practise, and showing them how to deal with this at home.
When children struggle with a concept, parents sometimes get impatient and some even interrupt and scold the child, because they think the child’s not paying attention. This is an opportunity for the teacher – to explain to the parent that the child is trying very hard – and that it’s genuinely difficult…..
Parents often don’t see how difficult something is, possibly because they don’t play the piano and don’t understand or very often, because they may find something easy that their child finds hard (sitting still, or paying attention, is a classic example.)
When the piano teacher praises tiny achievements, and talks about how hard the student is trying, it helps parents see their child in a different light…and feel proud of their child – and this motivates the young piano student to try even harder.
The learning process is about a struggle to learn, and kids whose parents are patient enough to support them in this struggle, develop maturity and confidence in themselves.
By Elissa Milne
