Prepare the Music Teacher First
As summer winds down, it’s natural for music teachers to start getting ready for September. Lesson plans. Repertoire selection. Scheduling. Goal setting. All the practical details that come with starting again. There’s a lot on the list.
But before getting over-focussed on what you’re going to teach, there may be something even more important to prepare—something that will fundamentally influence how you navigate the myriad of opportunities, challenges, celebrations, detours, and awakenings that will soon take shape.
Music Teacher's Mindset - I’d like to suggest music teachers need to think about how we want to be as teachers. We need to consider the mindset we bring to our teaching. Our self-expectations. How we approach our students. Will we teach students with a willingness to see what might be possible? Or will be begin the new year by simply repeating the last one?
Of course, we want our students to learn, progress, perform well, and succeed. Maybe they'll participate in exams. They might take part in competitions. These are all worthwhile avenues of musical exploration. The problem is that students can earn top marks, win a competition, and become technically accomplished, yet following their final music lesson, far too many students will never sing or take up their instrument again. That seems like a highly undesirable outcome.
That’s why I think the most important thing music teachers prepare for September may not be the lessons. For me, it’s more about the teacher you choose to be when those lessons begin. The teacher who is curious about who each student is becoming, not simply about what or how much they accomplish. The teacher who is organized enough to provide structure, yet flexible enough to respond to the student in front of them. The teacher who listens before deciding what needs to be taught. The teacher who makes room for choice, ownership, creativity, and discovery. It’s music teaching that begins with preparing ourselves to look well beyond the immediate lesson, performance, or exam - to have a vision of what making music might become in a student’s life.
So, as you prepare for September, I want to encourage music teachers to take some time to prepare your mindset, attitude, and vision. Ask yourself: What mindset will you bring into your teaching? What will you expect from yourself? What do you want your students to discover, feel, and carry with them beyond the lesson? And then ask the harder question: What might you need to do differently to make that vision possible?
Music students most assuredly experience more than the lessons music teachers prepare. They experience you. Which means the most important preparation for September may not be what you put into your music lessons. It may be the teacher you choose to be when those lessons begin.
First thing on the list - Prepare the teacher.
The lessons will follow.