My primary responsibility as a teacher is to inspire students to find and achieve their goals. I want students to be competent musicians, motivated self-instructors, and life-long learners. I teach with authority, compassion, and enthusiasm. I believe in the Suzuki philosophy of “every child can,” which promotes care and love for music and the musician. Suzuki was a Japanese violinist who developed the concept of “talent education,” or the idea that talent could be taught rather than being solely innate. The nature of private instruction lends itself well to active-learning activities, such as imitation (I do, we do, you do), repetition, and listening, three tenets of the Suzuki “mother tongue” method. As I gain experience as a teacher, it is imperative that I stay connected to and embrace the ever-fluctuating education and instructional trends in higher education. Academia has gone in the very positive direction of promoting care, understanding, patience, and activities to help every student learn. The Suzuki method also emphasizes that every person learns at a different rate, so I try to teach every student according to the student’s proficiency and ability on the instrument, creating individual lesson plans to include an appropriate sequence of scales, sight-reading, etudes (musical exercises), and repertoire.

In each lesson I assess what a student already knows and what a student needs to or would like to know; I then develop a systematic method for bridging that gap. I examine and correct a student’s deficiencies in technique and/or musicianship, breaking down concepts while building up the student’s confidence. It is so important to choose repertoire that is not only musically and technically challenging, but also helps the student feel like they can achieve a good performance. I always try to find at least one positive comment for every lesson or performance. The critical feedback I give should be necessary, helpful, and kind. Students ultimately must take responsibility for their own learning, including self-instruction. Students who can independently teach themselves can in turn more effectively instruct others. I teach strings students to approach repertoire from a pedagogical perspective with the purpose of learning techniques for self-instruction. I accomplish this by asking students to assess their own performances or to give constructive criticism on the performances given by other students. It is virtually required that students take advantage of 21st -century technology to record lessons and practice sessions for immediate feedback and self-assessment.

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My extensive background in private teaching translates well to the classroom. I promote critical thinking and comprehensive learning by implementing active-learning activities (e.g. Think-Pair-Share, individual and group projects). These activities tend to facilitate more extensive classroom discussion, therefore increasing student engagement and academic success. I assess student learning using objective criteria (e.g. scales, fingerings, music excerpt identification, or historical data), and subjective criteria using rubrics (e.g. discussion posts, essays, lesson preparation, or performances).

As a mentor, I emphasize that learning and achieving new goals are ongoing endeavors. I believe in the concept of “growth mindset,” where we are forever evolving, always learning, and that setbacks are merely opportunities for improvement. The music world can be competitive, but I believe there is a place for almost everyone who wants to have a career in music as long as she has training and intense self- discipline. I strive to demonstrate collegiality, responsibility, and a strong work ethic while encouraging
students to play, perform, and teach. I encourage students to find their place in music and to try to be the most responsible, prepared, enthusiastic, collegial, affable, and levelheaded musicians and teachers that they can be.