The Truth About 21st Century Parents (One Thought Thursday No. 53)
Christina Whitlock, Beyond Measure Podcast
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What I'm pondering today:
Give your studio parents the benefit of the doubt.
Full disclosure: I'm in one of those seasons of parenting where the emotional roller coaster is non-stop.
It's important to remember we each wake up as the main character in our story every day.
...and this severely limits our perspective.
As I mentioned in this week's podcast episode, the Teacher Perspective is quite different from the Parent (or Student) Perspective.
As I find myself navigating challenge after challenge in parenting (hello, high school!), I can't help but think of my many studio parents who have been dealing with similar struggles the entire time I've known them.
I cringe remembering my once-limited view of parental involvement (or lack thereof).
There is always so. much. more. to someone's family picture than we know.
I find the majority of studio parents are doing the best they can with the resources they have. Educating them is one thing; but judgement or misguided frustration is something else altogether.
I think most 21st century parents are dealing with a nagging baseline of guilt and uncertainty, amongst other things.
(And certain seasons send those emotions off the charts📈)
So, consider this your reminder: When parental conflicts rear their inevitable heads, let's remember to always START with believing the best (psst! there's a really old episode on that🙂).
I will say this: the majority of parents I know do not need another reason to feel as though they are coming up short.
When we need to see something different from our studio parents, let's commit to providing them easily actionable steps, all stemming from a place of kindness and appreciation.
This perspective falls in the territory of Fundamentals of Studio Teaching That Actually Have Little-Or-Nothing To Do With The Instrument Itself.
As you likely know by now, those are my favorite types of things to talk about.
If you are looking for a deep-dive on perspectives that will help you find more satisfaction and effectiveness in your teaching, I invite you to check out The Studio Foundations Course.
You know that famous quote from Frances Clark: "Teach the student first, the music second, and the piano third"?
There are many resources out there for teachers who want to improve the way they teach their instruments, yet I always find myself wishing we knew more about the art of teaching music outside of technical demands.
...and that's why I created The Studio Foundations Course.
You can begin this study any time, but I'll be leading a special session beginning in September. If you give me one hour each week, you will complete the material in 6 weeks.
There will be additional opportunities to meet live with other course participants and alumni, and I can't wait to bring this material to more teacher friends!
I'm not sharing this ANYWHERE else, but because I appreciate your reading my words each week, you can save $15 by entering code thursday15 before Wednesday, September 4th.
click here for all the details!
So, I've shared my thoughts: Now it's YOUR turn!
HIT THAT REPLY BUTTON and tell me what your biggest parent-related frustration is. Let's see if we can trouble-shoot some action steps that lead with KINDNESS and APPRECIATION.
🥂Cheers to understanding the plight of 21st century parents.🥂
I wanted to offer insight into the hardest truth of teaching, as well as explain why it's okay that we understand "the big picture" of the lesson experience more than our students (and their parents) do.
When I tell you I can't wait, I mean it. I am THAT excited!
TTT is a monthly meet-up where Beyond Measure Community members meet and learn alongside one another. Most months, we focus on a specific piece of repertoire, but August's session will feature a LIVE segment of "What Should I Teach Next?"
Of course, we love when members show up live... but for those who can't, video replays are always available to watch later.
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