Dear CASTA members,

I hope this finds you all well and dashing to the final concerts and class finish line. Every year seams to go faster, like the calendar pages in the old movies flying into the air. Now you are ending this year of teaching and will soon be thinking about "What will I do for next year?" There are two times of the year that I do miss very much since retiring. August was always exciting as each new string class started, seeing how long you could sustain that excitement before they realized that learning an instrument takes some work. Keeping the excitement sustained, as each new process of learning unfolds, is sometimes a chore, in getting the student to want to advance. They get so settled; comfortable at their ability, some students just can’t seem to take that next step. Now it’s your turn to show them the next step and keep them on the path of growth and success. Are you a teacher that can see further down the road and foresee the problems that may arise? Pick a path for that student, pull a trick out of your bag that’s tried and true, or invent a new approach that could inspire students? I’ve been teaching for 40 years now and it never ceases to amaze me in the many different ways you can get a student to learn. In all of these choices, I try to let every action work toward the common good.

Finally, my second favorite part of the year was May, with the final push for the end of the year learning and the final concerts. I loved that last concert with both students and parents’ amazed at what they had accomplished. All along the way, throughout the year I stressed that to be successful we had some class rules to live by.

Never Freak Out: whether it’s when you’re reading or playing. When you Freak Out, you throw up roadblocks. Before your brain can focus you have to knock them down and then go on.

Never Give Up: It just might be on the next try that it makes sense and you get it. The students knew that being successful didn’t mean that they were the best, but rather that they had done their best at that time.

Well, as you can see from my story, a teacher has many experiences that they must draw from to help them stay enthused. It helps to have a knowledge of how your body/muscles work, brain works, kids work, I could go on and on and on. An individual without information cannot take responsibility. An individual who is given information cannot help but take responsibility.