Attending an Institute as a Teacher

I recently returned from a great trip to Seattle to attend the Japan Seattle Suzuki Institute. It had been a few years since I attended an Institute to take training (I have gone to observe only lately).

It was such a motivating and re-energizing experience for me!

I had taken a few years off to take long term training with a teacher trainer in my home city and then was just busy with life, so it took a concerted effort to set aside the time and money to attend but it was so worth it.

As a teacher it is so easy to get into a routine of teaching everyday, running a studio, and the busyness of life and I know that after a while I tend to feel a little run down. This week of taking a class for myself was a great way to get a boost of fresh motivation and energy to pour back into my studio. I have fresh ideas, things I want to practice so I can teach them better/differently to my students, and items to research and learn more about as I continue to grow as a teacher.

Here are my favorite things about attending an institute as a teacher (and why it’s worth the time and expense to get there next year if you’re thinking about it).
– Fresh Teaching Ideas : taking a unit of training (even if it’s a refresher course) always gives me new ways to teach & the longer I teach the more I appreciate a fresh way to approach any challenge students may face while learning the violin.

– Meeting new teachers: because classes are filled with other teachers a lot like you, they are great places to meet new friends and colleagues and to share ideas about students, running a studio, and balancing life as a teacher.

– Observing!: Observing all the great faculty teaching masterclasses, technique classes, and group classes gives me endless ideas to take back with me to use in my own classes and I often identify with parts of each teacher’s approach and can use what I’ve seen to take things I am already doing one step farther.

–Motivation: seeing what’s possible and getting a week of training and observing in at Institute always makes me re-motivated to provide better information and communication to parents in my studio, to work with my students on technique and musicality, and to continue on in my training over the following year. I know I am a better teacher for going !

Teachers – what is your favorite part of attending institute? What has been holding you back from attending?