Fall in Love With Teaching Again
Teachers who switch to small group lessons fall in love with teaching all over again
We’ve all been there.
Sitting for 30 or 45 minutes ahead with a student who hasn’t practiced is a hard way to feel motivated to teach. It totally bites. I remember one week in particular, facing a whole week of that. It was April, when students returned from spring break. Not one had practiced that week. I had 52 students. It felt like torture and more like 4 weeks, not one. And I’m pretty sure that since it felt like torture for me, it was similar for my students too.
Small groups kick-start practice
In my private lessons, that week after spring break, it literally felt like I was dragging students to the finish line of the time period. But this is just not the same in small groups. Now, when a week like that happens in my classroom, I tell them we’re going to play a game as soon as everyone has taken a few moments to work on just one line that I quickly assign them. Instead of me coaxing them through beginning their assignments again, they jump in, eager to accomplish that line so we can play “minute-to-win-it”.
And, naturally I get them focused on the part they will need the most help with once they get back to practice at home. But they are the ones engaging, taking the initiative to learn and that makes me love being with them more than ever.
Let the fun begin
After 10-12 minutes of serious focus, we play a game using flashcards for key signatures, or sight reading, or even creating a new version of Happy Birthday. The group energy and the proverbial carrot works so far superior to my private teaching days of dragging students to the end of their 30 minute lesson.
My class days and weeks fly by because I am totally engaged the entire time too. What kind of teacher would you have rather had? You get to choose for yourself now. And you get to offer this for your students. Make your love of teaching more fun and more sustainable with real progress.
