What I've Learned in 20 years of teaching

I’m coming up on 20 years of recorder teaching. I started with one student, way back when I was a student myself (sorry, Katie Z.! You had me 20 years too early!). Now I have….well, actually, I’ve lost count of how many students I have.

And sure, I teach them things. But they also teach me things. That’s one of the secret joys of teaching– that in helping others learn, you, too, are learning!

So twenty years in, what have my students taught me?

I should really take all that great advice I give!

A side effect of teaching is that you begin to hear your own voice in your head as you practice. And guess what? The stuff I’ve been telling my students really does work! I should listen to myself more often.

Teaching is BIG FUN!

I was a pretty conflicted performance major. I liked performing (I still do), but it always felt like something was missing, and so I spent years agonizing over whether I should stay in music or leave it behind. I wish I could go back and reassure myself: Just wait until you can teach!

Teaching, especially teaching adults, is a joy and a privilege. You’re part evangelist, part project manager, part therapist, part consultant, part tour guide. And I can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.

It’s never too late to learn!

I’d estimate that average age of my studio is somewhere circa 70 years old. But my students prove to me, again and again, that there is no statute of limitations on learning. They are joyfully curious, in a way that is tremendously inspiring.

And that’s given me the confidence to learn new skills, too! I hung my first –and second!– picture this year. It was, I am not going to lie, really hard. Mechanical intelligence is….how shall I say this?….not my strong suit. And my lifelong tendency with tasks that require mechanical savvy has been to give up.

But thanks to my students, I knew I could do it. I sought out quality instruction and allowed myself to go slowly, step by step. I did have some dark periods (what IS a level?! And why???), but I persevered, and now my walls are no longer bare!

Next up: I’m going to roast my first chicken!

If you don’t hear from me, you’ll know what took me out.