My first semester teaching flute at The Falk School couldn't have gone better. I am still amazed at how wonderful the music program is at The Falk School. The chorus, the band and the jazz band are absolutely phenomenol and so are the students! In attempt to write about this semester, I found it would be fitting to briefly write about the small lessons I learned throughout my teaching experience. 

Lesson #1: Differentiating instruction is the key to any successful educator. As I began this semester, I immedietely realized that I had ten students and not a single student was on the same level as the other student. Thus, switching from advanced to intermediate to elementary level music became something that I forced myself to get used to. Often times, I brought in my own books from home to share with the students so that they would have more variety of music to choose from. I became better at creating ten different lessons, but it certainly took to force myself to become flexible. 

Lesson #2: Students want to listen to your stories. In turn, they want to be listened to as well. I had one particular student this semester who had been diagnosed with ADHD and had a very difficult time sitting still during her thirty minute lesson. As with any begninning teacher, my initial approach was to make sure that we were only talking about the music because otherwise the student wouldn't have enough time to learn a new lesson. However, I soon discovered that it is okay every once and a while to talk about a story that relates to my experience as a flute player or makes the student laugh. When I allowed this particular student to tell me a short story every time she played two songs, the lessons went a lot smoother and the student focused more intently on the task at hand. 

Lesson #3: There is nothing like a sticker to brighten your day. Teaching mostly middle schoolers this semester, I convinced myself that I did not need to go out and buy stickers because the students were find this insulting. However, one day I did bring in stickers as an experiment to see if morale would go up after a student had completed a song successfully. I soon realized that receiving a sticker (even in middle school) is similar to receiving a gold medal at the Olympics. I am a firm believer that children should not complete something just to receive a tangible. In other words, intrinsic motivation is key. However, I do think that receiving one small sticker is hardly a tangible and it makes their success concrete and real. My middle schoolers loved the stickers I used that one day and so I continued to use stickers throughout the semester. I will do almost anything to motivate my students. 

Lesson #4: Get to know your students. Part of being an excellent teacher is getting to know each and every one of your students. Teaching at the Falk School this semester, I was truly lucky because all of my lessons were individual lessons. Thus, during each thirty minute lesson I was really able to get to know the students personally. I constantly asked them how their weekend was and if they were doing anything fun for their holiday break. Simple questions such as these created a bond of respect and it showed them how much I care. 

I cannot wait to continue with flute lessons next semester. Not only will I improve as a teacher, but hopefully my returning students will improve greatly as well.