Students
Dealing with mother wanting teacher to be more strict
I need some help or suggestions form those of you who have experience in teaching autistic children. I started recently with my first autistic student (6-year-old boy), and I really love him. He can be quite fun and funny at times! He is verbal and…
Discussing child’s minimal effort with coach
I am trying to choose the right words to discuss a student’s minimal effort with her parent. The student is 8 and has been taking lessons since she was 5. She progressed quickly, then hit a valley and has been putting in the bare minimal…
Strategies to help an anxious student
One of my students is a six-year-old boy who has confidence problems to the point that when he thinks something looks too hard, he gets anxious and teary and refuses to try. Last week when I demonstrated Dreams Come True, it took a whole five…
Webinar Series: 06/15/2018 – Gateway – Music Stories from Karen’s Studio
In this webinar Karen shares videos of her teaching her own students with learning disabilities and discusses their stories and their successes with the Gateway program. Introduction (00:05) Student Video 1: Nikos (00:43) Student Video 2: Rick (09:35) Student Video 3: Eytan (22:28) Student Video…
Very fast learning adult student
I have a super fast learning adult student. In 4 lessons he’s done Foundation up to and including Ode to Joy; composed a short song, improvised on black notes, learned the C blues scale, done an arrangement of Dreams, learned different rhythms for Jackson Blues,…
Helping students navigate valleys
What strategies have you used to help your students navigate a valley? First step – have a conversation about it. Ask questions. After finding out exactly what the cause of the valley is, I take the pressure off for a while – no new foundation…
Teacher in a valley
I’m hoping to find some advice and encouragement. For several months, I have felt bogged down in studio management (mostly involving recruiting and keeping students since my finances are very restricted at the moment). In the process of trying to fill vacancies and keep my…
Starting age for SM
I’m a new SM teacher and have started one class with two students which is going really well so far. I have run into some people with younger aged kids than what I originally thought was a good age to start teaching. I had always…
Parents requesting discounted lessons
I started to work with a student who has cerebral palsy. Tova is an amazing person and student but does have a lot of challenges, as well as in the class. Because of her many issues, the 30-minute lesson can easily extend longer than that…
Webinar Series: 04/20/2018 – Gateway – Improving Fine Motor Function at the Piano
Karen discusses some very common fine motor challenges in students with special needs and ways in which teachers can address them in the Gateway curriculum, and addresses teacher questions about some of their students’ fine motor issues. Topics include: Typical Fine Motor Issues (00:05) Fine…