Goal Setting: Student, Teacher, Parent

Tomorrow is the first of February and many people have already abandoned the new year’s resolutions they made only a month ago.   I tend to avoid new year’s resolutions for this reason.  Instead, I usually make a few long-term goals for each area of my life and I urge you to do the same for your music goals this year.   Whatever side of the Suzuki Triangle you are (the student, parent or teacher) it can help to keep things moving in the right direction if you have some tangible goals to achieve over the next few weeks, months or year.   Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Possible Student Goals:

• Pick a goal piece you’d like to learn by the end of the school year (make sure your teacher agrees that it is a realistic goal so you don’t get frustrated)
• Pick a technique you need to fix or would like to learn (like vibrato)
• Joining the local youth symphony
• Attending a summer music camp or Suzuki Institute
• Make a practice goal (100 days in a row is a popular one) or practicing more often during each week

Possible Parent Goals:

• Help your child set up their musical goals and remind them of the goal if they lose motivation (long-term goal setting and working to achieve those goals is a great life skill that extends beyond music – I know I hope to help my own children learn to do this!)
• If you practice with your child : work on finding the time of day when you and your child are at your best and can work together well during practice
• Commit to reading a book about Suzuki parenting or parenting the specific age of your child
• Commit to taking careful notes during lessons and/or videotaping the lesson
• If your child is older and practices independently help them make a practice schedule and find time each day to get practice in, even with a busy schedule

Teacher Goals:

• Commit to joining or becoming more active in a professional organization
• Attend a workshop this year or the Suzuki Conference
• Work on your work/life balance and make sure you are at your best personally and as a teacher by taking time to make time for yourself as well as your students
• Find one thing you always wish you focused more on in lessons and commit to including it in each student’s lesson – I am working on adding in more music theory to my lessons this year

What musical goals have you made this year?

~ Christine