The Music of Teaching: Learning to Trust Students' Natural Development

by Barbara Kreader Skalin

Overview

(Book). The Music of Teaching focuses on an ephemeral attribute all teachers need but few consider: perception. This includes the ability to trust both students' natural development and the learning process itself to guide developing pianists down music's path. Using stories from her 46-year teaching career plus research from the fields of education and psychology, Barbara Kreader Skalinder explores the ways teaching has evolved from the authoritative style of the 1950s to the collaborative design better suited to the students in today's digital world. The author also examines the ways independent teachers, free from the outside constraints often imposed on public school educators, can point the way toward educational methods that keep students' individual learning styles and natural rate of progress as a primary focus and guide them toward independent learning and success. "Throughout the book, the reader senses the teacher's willingness to listen, respect, adapt, and learn yes, learn from every student...This book is more than a collection of pedagogy tips: it is a philosophy of teaching and an examination of our perception of our role as teachers." Clavier Companion

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781495059988
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2016
Pages:	146
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Barbara Kreader Skalinder (Evanston, IL) has taught in her independent studio since 1974. One of the coauthors of the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library, she has given workshops in more than 200 cities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia. Formerly the editor of Clavier magazine, she is also a published poet. Kreader Skalinder received her M.M. degree from Northwestern University, where she studied with Laurence Davis and Frances Larimer.

Table of Contents

Foreword Peter Jutras ix

Introduction 1

Part 1 Teaching Yesterday's Child 7

Enter the Portals to Piano Teaching's Past 9

The Black-and-White '50s 9

Day-Glo Muppets and More 12

"Information My Way" 14

Phones, Pods, and Pads 16

Part 2 Teaching Today's Child 19

Students in a Virtual World 21

The Pressured Child 26

Be a Model 29

Remember the Reality of Your Own Journey 31

Be a Wise Guide and a Reliable Witness 32

Music's Many Faces 34

The Twenty-First Century Studio 38

Teaching to the Student and Not to the Test 42

Part 3 Teaching the Real Child 47

Let the Student Be Your Guide 49

Desire Equals Success 52

One Learning Style Doesn't Fit All 55

Tempo and Dynamics: Every Child Has Them 59

Some Struggle Is Not Only Necessary, It Is Valuable 62

Teaching Students How to Work on Their Own 65

Listen Up! 69

Praise for Nothing Means Nothing 73

Stickers, Skittles, and M&M'S 78

"I Thought It Sounded Great!" 81

Plateaus and Fallow Periods 85

Teaching Sideways 89

Perfectly Managing Imperfection 92

Failure: It's a Strength 96

Another Look at Success 102

Part 4 Teaching Yourself 105

Being Comfortable in Your Teacher Skin 107

Pay Yourself a Living Wage 113

Parents as Partners 117

The Fertile Field of After-School Child Care 122

The Rewards of Risk 130

The Music of Teaching 134

Acknowledgments 139

Notes 141

Bibliography 145