HITS
- The week began with getting to have the geriatric patients attend church with me. We were incredibly blessed by Dr. Hallmark's sermon that explored how God brings change into our lives at just the right moment in just the right way. I've been meditating on those truths all week long.
- I am confident in my skills as a musician and teacher. Still, it's nice to get a referral from colleagues. It builds me up and reminds me that I am doing exactly what I was created to do.....and not trying to conform to some other plan.
- As a result of the referral, I gave an introductory piano lesson to a late intermediate student on Wednesday afternoon. It was such a joy to hear a young pianist playing solid repertoire that I was able to sink my teeth into as a teacher. This was definitely not another lesson consisting of the Bastien method! We spent an hour together looking at passages from the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" as well as the first of Bach's Two-Part Inventions. At the end of our time together, the boy and his parents agreed that they would like to study with me....so I will travel to their Germantown home each weekend for a lesson. Even though it's adding another commute to my crazy schedule, I'm really looking forward to it.
- This week, I also got some nice feedback from one of the students in my online class. She told me how much she was enjoying the recorded lectures over the typical "read these pages" assignments found in many of her other virtual classrooms. Normally, I would chalk this comment up to an effort to get on the teacher's good side; however, her insightful questions and thoughtful responses to those that I posed changed my mind. Teaching is a pleasure when I encounter students like this.
- I've also been reminded how thankful I am to work at Bartlett Music Academy. I have toyed with teaching private lessons over the years, but never felt I was very successful. My students were always those I knew from other areas of my life and lacked the motivation to excel. The teaching environment was less than ideal. Did I mention how much I hated the "business" side of teaching -- collecting fees, confirming schedules, and everything else that took time away from the actual teaching? When my friends, Bobby and Melissa, first approached me about joining the team at BMA, I was apprehensive. When I finally decided to take the plunge, I realized what a great situation this is for me. The time I was spending on other things is now devoted to lesson planning. I'm more confident in the lessons and my students are reaping the rewards. More importantly, I look forward to going to the studio each week -- even if the lessons are on Saturday mornings.
MISSES
- One of my greatest weaknesses is waiting. I've been doing my fair share of it this week. I've waited in the doctor's offices. I've waited for test results from my stress test. (I'm assuming that no news a week after the test means that the doctor didn't notice anything terribly wrong.)
- Worse than waiting for me is dealing with poor organization....especially when it impacts my personal calendar. On Sunday afternoon, Mom informed me that she had gotten a call from the cardiologist about an appointment she had this week. Mom didn't have it written down any where.....so she was convinced it was wrong. While there on Monday with Dad, I learned that the appointment was scheduled for the next day as a follow-up from her last visit. Ugh! Just when I thought my scheduling issues were over for the week, I was informed late in the week that another piano lesson was added to the beginning of my teaching schedule for Saturday. Well....it wasn't added yet, but it might be. (Trust me, I'm not complaining about the new student and the money that the lesson will bring....just the uncertainty generated by the "scheduling.") Late Friday afternoon I received confirmation that the lesson was in fact happening (after making a call to the studio boss!); I proceeded to adjust my plans for the following morning. I can be flexible when I need to.....I just don't always like it. :)
- Blown light bulbs always come at the most inconvenient times. Here's a funny picture for you to imagine: I'm standing on the edge of my bed with a light globe in one hand as I try to remove the blown light bulb. Nothing can possibly go wrong, right? Thankfully, the light bulb has been replaced and nothing was broken.
- I hate dieting! That's really all I'm going to say about that....even though I am seeing some initial results.
PROGRESS REPORT
A busy week didn't equate to great progress in my reading efforts.
- Professional Piano Teaching (Jacobson) - p. 299 of 389 (33 pgs. this week)
- Crime and Punishment (Dostoevsky) - p. 331 of 551 (83 pgs. this week)
- That's a whopping 116 pages I've read this week. I'm really hoping to improve on that total in the coming week!
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