Thoughts on the Art of Teaching

Often, while reflecting after a piano lesson, it is reaffirmed for me that teaching really IS an art.  At least, good teaching is an art.  It requires full presence and direction.  When I am teaching, I am not a student, wife, sister, or daughter.  I am only part of the moment.  I see and hear a vision of my goal for my students, and I employ whatever method necessary to direct my student toward that goal.  In addition to steering my students toward my vision for them, I also must invite my students to direct their own playing toward THEIR goals.  I must remember to ask my students to hear in their mind's ears what they want to hear BEFORE playing.  Each week in a lesson, I start a train of action that continues through the week and over which I have no control. 

Teaching is an art, but it is a collaborative art.  Each week, I start a train of action that continues through the week, and over which I have no control.  Teaching is more like gardening than like sculpting, and yet it is like sculpting too.  Perhaps it is more like gardening manicured gardens and topiaries.  The time between lessons over which I have no control is imperative.  The constant gardener would have a dead garden.  As a piano teacher, I put a mark on an artist, but the finished product is not mine.