“Man can learn nothing except by going from the known to the unknown.”
Claude Bernard
Learning requires moving into the great unknown. It might be scary at times, but without making the risk we don’t have much to gain.
What’s an example of a time when YOU’ve made a move into the unknown?
“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin
Learning is truly an investment. It’s a sacrifice made in the hope that we will reap the benefits of knowledge many times over.
There are so many different ways to spend our time, energy, and resources. But in my experience, investing in knowledge tends to pay off and prove worthwhile to my quality of life…especially when it’s something I’m deeply interested in!
Do you agree? What have YOU invested to learn recently?
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Aristotle
We aren’t teaching just young fingers, young bodies, young minds. We’re teaching young hearts. <3
So, let’s teach with heart!
Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily.”
Muriel Spark
Learning is risky.
It means our self esteem might take a blow. It means our attempts might look inept. It means we might realize just how much we don’t know.
Young children don’t have this problem. They are accustomed to having to learn new things all the time. And as the quote points out, they have little awareness of their own self-importance. As a result, they generally aren’t shy about jumping in to try something new!
Maybe we can “stay young” and learn from kids. We can choose to not allow our pride to get hurt when we are in those awkward learning stages. Maybe we can try to recover quickly, laugh it off, and not allow those moments to get to us.
How can we help our students, as they grow up, stay open to risky learning experiences?
Because learning is worth the risk.
“Take the attitude of a student: never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.”
OG Mandino
This message is a GOOD ONE for us to keep in mind as we all become older and wiser. We are naturally good learners as children, but as we grow up sometimes we become less willing or less open to learning new things.
But it doesn’t have to be that way! We can assume the attitude of a student, no matter how old we are. We can be comfortable with the fact that we don’t know everything. We can be willing to ask questions. We can be EXCITED when there are opportunities to learn new things.
Moreover, we can MODEL this attitude for the young ones in our charge. Have your students witnessed your excitement to try out new piano literature with them? Have they seen you introduce new resources, teaching aids, or projects? Have they seen you perform in your studio recitals? Have they heard about your own practice strategies? Have they seen you embrace new technology? If so, that’s awesome!!
As teachers, let’s strive to not only be the best teachers we can be, but also the best learners we can be.
“Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival.”
–W. Edwards Deming
Food for thought: What are your students learning from YOU, whether intentionally or non-intentionally?
“The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.”
–Dorothy Parker
Such a great quote! Much of our job as teachers is about provoking curiosity, don’t you think? 🙂
“The child should love everything that he learns, for his mental and emotional growths are linked. Whatever is presented to him must be made beautiful and clear, striking his imagination. Once this love has been kindled, all problems confronting the educationalist will disappear.”
–Maria Montessori
I love this quote from Maria Montessori. It encourages us to be deliberate about choosing material for our students. It encourages us to present that material in a way that makes it BEAUTIFUL and CLEAR to the student, provoking their imagination. We would do well to remember that the child’s mental and emotional growths are linked. Montessori suggests that when we kindle the child’s interest and love of learning, other educational problems will melt away.
What learning material (concepts, music books, pieces, etc.) do you love using with your students, and why? How can we present it in a way that is beautiful and clear to the student? How will this help us kindle the child’s interest and love of learning?
“Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to ‘make him learn things,’ but by the endeavor to always keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.”
–Maria Montessori
I love this quote from Maria Montessori. Learning outcomes are important, but MORE important is keeping that light called intelligence burning brightly in our students! How can we avoid snuffing out that light? What can we do to nurture interest, curiosity, and inquisitiveness in our students?
Thoughts to share? Leave a comment on this post here.
“The first essential for the child’s development is concentration. The child who concentrates is immensely happy.”
–Maria Montessori
“The environment must be rich in motives which lend interest to activity and invite the child to conduct his own experiences.”
–Maria Montessori
“We discovered that education is not something which the teacher does, but that it is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being.”
— Maria Montessori
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