When I first started teaching, I encountered all kinds of unexpected situations that I was not prepared for at the University. One of them was this:

My little cutie fagottino student told me she played ev-er-y day soo-oo much at home!
She played soo-hoooooo much and eeev-eeer-y day!
– But just not what her homework was.

Very nice. But this actually evoked some thoughts in me.
Maybe I should change her repertoire!?

No matter what our little cuties do, as long as it is with music they should get all the praise we have!>>

Sometimes teaching for me feels like sitting in a taxi.

I am on a journey, I am on the road.
Something out there is moving.
Or am I moving?
Or are we not moving and stuck in a traffic jam?
Red lights?
Constructions everywhere?>>

Do you know the name John Paul DeJoria? He is one of those people who started homeless, with nothing. Today he is a billionaire PLUS he is a philantropist, meaning he is always focused on making the world a better place to live for as many people as possible.

I so much love John Paul’s motto: “Success unshared is a failure“.
Success to be shared of course can be money. But so is
– a smile, so is
– giving support,
– inspiring others,
– sharing loving words and offering help and advise and
– giving encouragement.>>

Bassoonist Julian Baumgartner (9 years old) ist playing Anselma’s Bassoon Adventure Method.
His brother Adam (2 years) is jammin’ in. Yes!!!

In our life we see people come and go.
Students start learning with us and some day, they leave.
Children come into families, some day, they do their own thing.
We have jobs and start fresh and some day we change the position or we retire.

Coming and going.
What is the essence of this?

 

Society tells us that life is about having success.

Today, success often is measured by money. Or by good scores.
Measured by being “the best” (whatever that may be), the most brilliant, most famous, most talked about. By being the bestselling, having the best look, being the best cook or the best crook.>>

At times our regular, day to day life seems overwhelming. On top of that, we have extra stressful occasions: in-laws coming for a visit, overpacked days, public performances, people suddenly behaving “funny” (and leaving us with question marks in our heads) and such.

In other words, life can be pretty stressful and funky.
Everyday life used to make me pretty nervous on a regular basis.
So I was looking for relief for quite some time.

 

Here is, what helped me tremendously
– and I hope these strategies will support you as well:>>

I am not a fan of strict rules.
But I have to admit that in education they are key.
Looking back into my notes that I made to educate myself in pedagogics, I found this quote:
Healthy rules are like a house. The give us a place to live in.

 

And that’s so true!
Even if you don’t like rigid rules and regulations and you have a tendency (like me) to break out of tight frameworks, children need a clear structure in which they can grow.>>