Parents: How to raise a creative genius

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/10/22/motivation.kids/?hpt=Sbin

What motivates a passion for learning, and achievement? High achieving kids say that they have a natural drive to challenge themselves, but parents have also opened their world with opportunities to excel.

Parents should observe and cheer on their children, but should not be attached to outcomes, said said Robyn McKay, a psychologist and creativity researcher at Arizona State University. Some kids will rebel and drop an activity if they believe their parents have too many expectations about it.


See link above for more details.


Cheers,
David Story

First Meeting and lesson with a transfer student

First impressions count.

• At the first class clarify the goals and intentions of the student
• Understand why they are changing teachers
• Establish or reestablish your credentials to teach what they want to learn
• Outline your expectations
• Get their name right, and confirm you have the correct contact information
• Immediately engage them is work

Cheers,

David Story

Publicity Hamilton Ormta

Professional Presentation Part One

1. A professional has a business card that is not homemade, and is specific to teaching.

2. A professional has a website that is:

• Bright and Cheerful
• Owned by the professional i.e. your own domain name
• Full of content: the more expensive the purchase the more people will read
• Constantly evolving: Google loves this
• Linked, lots of links, both inbound and outbound: Google loves this
• Not cheesy in it’s look or worse BORING: Prospect killer--you look cheap or amateurish
• Highlighting student successes: Blow your horn
• Making it easy for the prospect to buy: Ka-ching $$

3. A professional protects their image.

Cheers,

David Story

Professional Skills and New Students

September 24ths workshop I gave at Long and McQuade Burlington was a lot of fun. A full house of teachers shared ideas on student retention and professional happiness. Key ideas: its about the students, communicating with parents and professional skill development.

Each new skill attracts a new type of student. Each new type of student = a growing and diverse student body = more income. Each new skill broadens our reach and the depth of our knowledge. New skills keep us fresh.

Cheers,
David

Workshop Friday September 24th Long and McQuade Burlington

Five days to go to Friday morning’s workshop at Long and McQuade Burlington. I’m looking forward to sharing ideas with colleagues on helping our students achieve more satisfying results and exciting musical experiences, including 80 things a student should know before attempting grade 1 piano and improvisation in classical music.


Free: email Karen kthornton@long-mcquade.com


David Story

Piano Poem

Piano

Softly, in the dusk, a woman is singing to me;
Taking me back down the vista of years, till I see
A child sitting under the piano, in the boom of the tingling strings
And pressing the small, poised feet of a mother who smiles as she sings.


In spite of myself, the insidious mastery of song
Betrays me back, till the heart of me weeps to belong
To the old Sunday evenings at home, with winter outside
And hymns in the cosy parlour, the tinkling piano our guide.

So now it is vain for the singer to burst into clamour
With the great black piano appassionato. The glamour
Of childish days is upon me, my manhood is cast
Down in the flood of remembrance, I weep like a child for the past.

D. H. LawrencePublish Post

Practicing, “Meeting Yourself”

Quotes from “The Art of Practicing” by Madeline Bruser


“Passion, confidence, and vulnerability are evidence of musical talent” pg 9


A fine teacher told me “ones talent can only be discovered by focused and correct practice and study. You may never golf like Tiger, but imagine how well you’d play with his training and practice regime.”


Cheers,


David Story