This month’s discussion topic:
How do you motivate your students? How do you keep them coming back year after year? How do you keep them exciting about taking lessons? How do you keep them practicing? What have you found works for your students? Have some things worked better for some students, but not for others?
Please take a moment to contribute your thoughts and ideas!
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Published by Joy Morin
Joy Morin, MM, is a teacher, pianist, composer, speaker, and writer of a blog at ColorInMyPiano.com. A devoted teacher and lifelong learner, she teaches students of all ages at her independent piano studio near Ann Arbor, Michigan. Joy is a frequent attendee and presenter at conferences and workshops, and enjoys connecting with fellow piano teachers through her blog and beyond.
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I give them prizes and loads of positive feedback.
I teach with “Music for Young Children”, so my group classes are made up of students 10 yrs & under. MYC teachers give out practice incentives that might last for 1 month to 6 weeks. So, for instance, leading up to Thanksgiving, the kids will receive a paper turkey with a bare backside. For each practice they receive a feather to stick on the turkey. For the normal amount of practices you require, say 5 days a week, they receive a plain feather. If they practice more than 5 times, they can earn 5 plain feathers, and 1 fancy feather (maybe its cut out of shiny paper). By the end of 4 weeks, they should have a turkey with lots of feathers…or not. But they’ll see it, especially if all the turkeys are displayed on your wall. I have other seasonal incentives that use a similar concept. Hope this helps. Carrie