It's the middle of summer. A perfect time for some reflection and looking back on my teaching career. What jumps out? Two “pivotal conversations”. I call them my “pivotal conversations” because they genuinely shifted my attention and challenged me to think about teaching in ways I hadn’t anticipated. They remind me that small turning points like conversations can shift our teaching perspective and leave lasting marks on how we approach music teaching.
Independence - “So, just how long will it be before my child is able to practice on his own?” It’s remarkable how this question from a prospective father really got me thinking. In particular, how I needed to set up my teaching approach to accommodate and promote my students’ personal autonomy and independence. After all, independence is something parents understand from their child’s day of birth. No matter how much planning or scheduling parents do, their child always responds as an independent individual. Parents know this. I could see that my teaching would work best when it synchronized with parents’ recognition and commitment to raising independent children.
What did I do in response to this “pivotal conversation”? I made sure that my instructional language encouraged students’ independence right from the very first lesson. For example, after a routine instructional exploration, I frequently say to students: “Make sure you show your dad how to do this when you get home.” Instead of turning to the parent and saying: “Make sure your son completes this task when you get home.”
It was a “pivotal conversation” with an impact on my teaching language that’s still evident today.
After Music Lessons - This next conversation came from a father who told me about having nephews and nieces who’d taken music lessons for ten years, but after their final music lesson, they never again touched their instrument. He didn’t want that to happen for his children. So, I got to work and over the ten years his children studied with me, I included an entire spectrum of musical activities: composition, exams, ensemble concerts, improvisation, playing in malls, competitions, challenging repertoire. All engaging and worthwhile activities that unfortunately came up short.
It took me ten years to figure out there was still something missing - namely my students’ own interests and musical drivers. So I changed that and I’ve never looked back. You all know how much effort I put into making sure to explore and develop students’ own choices and relationship with music. It’s a mainstay of Teach Music 21C teaching.
This time the “pivotal conversation” took me a decade to really get things figured out. Its influence continues to impact how I teach today.
Powerful Shifts - These conversations remind me that powerful shifts in our teaching may simply begin as honest questions and concerns. A parent’s curiosity about independence. A father’s concern about what happens after lessons. Both of these “pivotal conversations” pushed me to rethink, to adapt, and ultimately to teach in ways that truly connect with students’ lives.
Every teacher will encounter these turning points throughout our careers. Transformation happens when we choose to reflect deeply and let those moments shape the future of our teaching. Sometimes those “pivotal conversations” have an immediate impact. At other times, a decade or more may required before changes can be implemented.
What “pivotal conversation” from your past years has left its mark on your teaching?
What “pivotal conversation” from recent teaching have you yet to respond to?
How might “pivotal conversations” spark your next breakthrough?