How do I motivate my first grader and cut down on my own frustration.
Motivation need not be a frustrating experience.
The goal is to have the student become self motivated. This is acquired over time. Look upon it as a long term goal.
One point is to note that piano is often one of the first activities a child participates in that requires "lonely discipline".
Self motivation is critical for success yet it is not part of a student's personality at this young age. Students are also asked
to develop very critical thinking skills to produce an artistic result. Piano teachers are always starting on the ground level
when teaching young beginners about something as complex as "art". These are daunting challenges for all young pianists and
a major reason why educators are so supportive of musical study for young children. The whole person gets a thorough workout
-- the mental, the artistic, the physical, the aural, the neurological. The music teachers job is a very comprehensive one because
he must touch a student on these many levels.
The major point is that piano lessons for the young is virtually
guaranteed to bring with it frustrating moments in all but the the rarest child. It's my hope that if you understand the challenge
before your child, that appreciation will evoke your sympathy and help ameliorate your own frustration.
Also, keep me
aware of these frustrating moments whenever you feel necessary. It is NOT a poor use of lesson time. If I know a student
is becoming frustrated I can address the cause of the frustration. A little frustration is not detrimental but we don't want
any frustration to become long term. I feel it's primarily my job to see to it that a student doesn't become habitually frustrated.
When a student is learning consistently where it isn't burdensome -- good motivation is optimized.
If you want I can address
practical methods for motivating children at a future time. Just fill out the Comment Form at the top of this page and let me
know.
Dan