Karin- Coyle- Ch8-9

 Chapter 8 inspired me. I have always wondered why my energetic way of teaching worked really well for some students and not others. After reading the story about the cello teacher, it makes sense. While an energetic method of teaching works for me, I need to be able to read what other students need. I also have found myself overexplaining in lessons. I need to be more concise like Wooden, more targeted with my comments. I also want to "teach love" in my lessons. I want to make learning music fun and enjoyable for my students, and I have a few ideas on how to achieve this.

 As someone who struggled to stay focused for long periods of time, I remember the hour-long lessons growing up seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Young children perceive time differently than adults, an hour feels like 6 hours, a day feels like 3 days. I want to implement stretching breaks, or "half-time activities." One example of this would be to watch an informational or inspiring video to ignite some motivation and passion. Another would be the pull out a solfege board and play a solfege game involving colors and stickers. just something to break up the time. When the "half-time activity" is over, we will go right back to focusing on what we had been doing previously. this would help in recall and repetition in building better and stronger myelin-wrapped circuits. 

Chapter 9 introduces the four virtues of master coaches: the matrix, perceptiveness, the GPS reflex, and theatrical honesty. I like when they mentioned that our vocal cords are just muscles. I think even I think of my vocals chords as some magical thing inside of me that either works and sounds good or does not and sounds bad. But I need to remember that just like any other muscle in my body, working out my vocal cords can make them stronger. I also really want to be a music teacher that can see a student walk into my studio and be able to tell what they need. I know this takes a lot of time and work to build up the myelin around the circuitry needed to accomplish that, but I feel ignited, and I am eager to learn. 

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