Seeing my students succeed makes me happy.

We're five days away from the year's most intense event for my piano students --at least for those who are not doing the NMCP exam for over-achieving students. I only have 3 students doing the National Music Certificate Program, which is like the honor society for piano students... pretty much. But most of the other more ordinary kids are about to do their Achievement Audition, and for most of them learning 3 pieces from memory and polishing and memorizing them to the degree that they feel confident enough to play in front of a judge is a huge task. I am so proud of those students who have prepared so well all year for this event. This signifies so much, especially as one sees the fruit of their labor. Of course, getting here has required lots of patience on my part, and on their behalf they had to learn to be students and to listen to and apply what we covered at each lesson. And it also took support from the parents... enough support to back up what I was saying, but at the same time giving their children independence so that they can take ownership of their learning experience.

I am also very happy about the fact that other students who are on the more laid-back track are still being challenged, though not in such a structured way. Several students are on a more recreational kind of track --meaning that they don't all participate in all events, just the major ones-- but I still insist on doing simple tasks well with all of them. I usually try to cover lots of ground at each lesson, but lately I've focused on doing 2 or 3 things at each lesson and doing them extremely well. I am very pleased to see students who were having lots of difficulty last year with finding enough motivation to practice, and now they are enjoying everything they are playing, and it is evident that they're spending a lot more time at the piano. Like I tell students and parents, by practicing and preparing for lessons, they give me tools to work with during the lesson. By taking care of basic things at home, they allow me to help them to "turn notes into music". Days like today --in which a student left her lesson with a huge smile because I assigned her an exercise that she really enjoyed and another student felt great about understanding how to balance melody and accompaniment-- it is days like these that make me a very fulfilled teacher. To top all of it off, the parent of one of my students overheard an entire lesson, and he told me I was an amazing teacher with a God-given talent. My response: "Thank you, I'll continue using it."

In the words of Norah Jones, "You humble me, Lord." What a joy to work in something that I love and that brings such satisfaction!