I don’t know about anyone else, but one of my jobs over the summer is to make some attempt to sort and reorganise music, organise resources and generally tidy up my teaching studio. I’d say there are now an overwhelming number of teaching books, resources, websites and methods available, not to mention sheet music targeted specifically at the educational market. It can be completely overwhelming to know where to begin.
What’s clear is that none of us have either the time or the funds to explore or acquire everything that’s out there. It’s just not possible, and in some ways, why would we want to? In this blog post, I want to share some practical actions you can take to help avoid feeling totally and utterly overwhelmed by the resources available.
1. What’s your teaching philosophy?
- What matters to you most in your teaching?
- What is the knowledge and skills you’d like your students to develop?
- Which things would you like your students to experience in their lessons?
These are important questions, yet many teachers feel unsure when it comes to their teaching philosophy. It’s easy to become enveloped in everyone else’s philosophies, and let’s be honest, it requires a certain amount of confidence to develop our own. With the teaching diploma candidates I mentor, this is something the think about a lot as it affects so many other areas.
‘Philosophy’ is a scary word, but start by thinking about what you want your students to get out of their lessons. You may find it helpful to reflect on your own learning – how might both the positive and negative teaching you experienced affect the way you teach now?
When it comes to choosing resources, having an idea of what’s important to you can help to sift the wheat from the chaff. If you believe that your students should be good sight-readers, you may choose a method book which develops note-reading in a pattern- or interval-based way. If you want you students to have good technical skills, you may choose a method book which develops technique from the very first lesson. If, like me, you’d like your students to develop the independent learning skills required to take ownership of their own learning, you may rightly be cautious to choose resources which do not rely too heavily on rote-learning.
Tip: think about what you want your students to get out of their lessons. What is your teaching philosophy? How do you think the resources you currently use facilitate that? Are there gaps to be filled or even resources to be retired?
2. Know your students.
As a teacher, you know your students pretty well. As time passes, you know what makes them ‘tick’, what interests them, and which skills they most want to develop. Inevitably, the books and resources you own, and those you seek to acquire will be in response to the needs of particular students.
There are many excellent resources out there, and hundreds I would recommend. I don’t own them all though. Fantastic as many are, they don’t suit my needs either as a teacher, or those of my students. Simply because I neither own nor use a resource, it is not necessarily a criticism of it. Rather, I have selected resources which best align with my teaching philosophy and with the needs of my own students.
Tip: if you’re looking to buy new books and resources, think about which of your students you will use them with. However wonderful the resource, if you’re struggling to decide which students you might use it with, maybe it’s not for you.
3. Set aside time to explore.
We are all busy, and time is inevitably limited. I suspect I’m not the only one who suddenly finds themselves hunting for a particular resource on the day of the lesson. It’s worth putting aside some time, maybe once a term, to evaluate the resources you already have and to see whether there are any gaps you might need to fill. Maybe you could get together with other teachers to share resources and ideas, either in person or online.
That said, you will never be able to own or use every book or resource which comes to the market, nor should you aspire too. Similarly, don’t discard books and resources because they are ‘old’. Some of the tried and tested approaches are still the most effective. When you evaluate your resources, think about whether those you use still meet the needs of you and your students. If they do, then that’s great, you shouldn’t feel obliged to replace them.
One word of caution though: if you’re using the same books and resources without considering alternatives, then I would encourage you to explore what else might be out there.
Tip: try and set aside time specifically to evaluate the resources you own, and to see whether, in consideration of your teaching philosophy and the needs of your students, whether there are any gaps to be filled. Also, consider whether you should be budgeting for new books and resources. Nicola Cantan has written a blog post here about budgeting in the teaching studio.
4. Do your research.
I’ve written previously about the need to do your own research and I feel quite strongly about this. When we become overwhelmed by the volume of resources out there, this often comes as a result of comparing ourselves to others. We see other teachers using things and we feel that we need to join them in order to keep up. It’s easy to feel that if we’re not using the latest method book or the latest app, we’re not keeping up.
What suits one teacher, and indeed, one student, won’t necessarily suit the next. There have been several instances over the past few years where certain resources have been pushed online as being the ‘must have’ in your teaching studio. They aren’t (or at least, they may not be). They’re just another resource in a long line of resources to hit the market. The temporary excitement will fade and the latest fad will pass. In 18 years as a private music teacher, I’ve seen this time and time again.
Once you’re clear about your teaching philosophy, you’ve considered the needs of your students and you’ve set aside time to explore, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and do your research. The internet has made this easier than ever. Not only can you explore books and resources online, but you can ask about and discuss them with other teachers. You can read online reviews, of which there are many (although, you should be cautious here, as not all online reviews are independent). Ultimately though, you need to make the decision. Just because everyone else seems to use a particular resource and even if it has glowing online endorsements, you can still walk away in favour of something else.
Tip: when choosing a new resource, consider, (a) how does it align with my teaching philosophy; (b) how does it meet the needs of my students; and (c) have I researched it independently. Not only will you build a library of books and resources which suit you and your students, but you will probably save money in the process.
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