CHAPTER 1 – The Master Plan
So let’s start off with a flashy graphic: The
Master Plan.
What’s the master plan? It’s nothing too
secret really. It’s simply the broadest
stages in the development of any teaching
practice. I’ve given you a nice big picture of
it on the following page, and there’s a
reason for that: I want to you to print it out!
Go ahead and do this now, or at least take
a peak.
Nifty right? I won’t go into too much detail
about this graphic right away, but I want to
present it here before we get into the nitty-
gritty of everything. It’s important just so
that you have a general overview of what’s
going on.
This might even seem too simple to be helpful, but I promise it’s not. Really do
print this sucker out, because years from now when you feel stuck in your
teaching or that you need some new direction, it might just orient you back to the
path you need.
One thing to notice right away: the master plan is a CIRCLE . . . it never ends,
because it’s a process you’ll continually repeat. I hope that doesn’t seem too
daunting. In fact it’s your greatest asset, because repeating this process is the
secret to refining your teaching practice. If you continue with this process, your
practice will evolve and become better and better as the years progress. This is a
good thing! Think how boring it would be to do the exact same thing over and
over again for the rest of your life. By constantly evolving, you’ll become known
as the teacher who is always looking for new ways to teach and inspire, and not
as the person who torments little kids.
The Teaching Studio Master Plan
So let’s break down each of these elements a bit:
1. Building Blocks
Building blocks is just the “stuff” of your
studio, the things you need to get going.
This is everything from pencils and
paper and an instrument (if you teach
music), to a website, studio policies, etc.
This also includes you – your teaching
abilities, your expectations, your
mindset.
Think of “Building Blocks” as the core of
everything. This is where all the other elements come back to. It is “the studio” and everything in it. A big portion of this book – the first three sections in fact—
will be devoted to all the different building blocks you need to get going.
2. Attract Students
Attract students means what you think it does: get them
to your door!
For the first iteration or so of your teaching
practice, attract students will simply mean “Attracting *Any*
Students.” Not only will you probably need the income, you will need to
get moving! A teaching practice isn’t much of a practice without people to teach,
and you won’t learn anything from not teaching. In fact you’ll learn a
tremendous amount by teaching students far below the best.
As you refine and mature your studio, this
turns more into “Attracting *The Right* Students.” We will deal with
this more in Section Three.
3. Teach
Sounds simple doesn’t it? This is simple enough
but of course it’s the center of your activity. Teaching is how you learn to
teach, and no amount of books or artificial scenarios will totally prepare you
for the real world “thinking on your feet” needed in teaching. I once
asked a distinguished teacher how she came up with a
particularly ingenious technique and she told me: “Out of
desperation!”
You’re going to learn a lot by just being face to face with a student. Whether it’s the
very first lesson, or trying out new techniques after years of practice.
Now this isn’t a pedagogy book (I’ll write one
someday!) but I’ll give you a few hints on the “how” of getting
started in Chapter 12.
4. Reasses
This is perhaps the least obvious stage of
development but it’s SO crucial to running a successful practice. The minute
you stop learning and growing is the minute you start decaying and dying. A lot
of teachers grow stale is that they leave out this element.
Here’s an example for pianists: As the piano
grew as an instrument, the action became far heavier that it was in past
centuries. Many popular teaching techniques based upon these older and lighter
instruments emphasized little or no involvement of the arm in virtually all
piano playing. This meant a tremendous over-exertion of the small muscles on
the heavier newer action, leading to many thousands of injuries. How much
suffering and injury could have been prevented if these teachers had simply
reassessed their teaching and realized that the old techniques weren’t suited
for the newer instruments!
Reassessing doesn’t just have to do with your
teaching techniques either. It can include things like materials, scheduling,
policy. On a more philosophic (and very important!) level, it can include your
motivation and goals as a teacher. I deal with this element of teaching,
especially some of the more philosophic ones, in Section Five. Don’t disregard
this *crucial* part of your teaching practice!
So
there you have it. The “Master Plan”. Like I said, print it out. It
might seem too simple or abstract at first, but I promise you it will be food
for thought as you and your studio mature and grow.