It is easy to dwell on the things that are different and not working well in the COVID teaching world in which we find ourselves. I, like many of you, have been teaching for a number of years (thirty to be exact!) and have fallen into comfortable patterns. COVID restrictions forced me to change my ways. Now, as we face what we hope will be the last semesters of exclusive virtual teaching, it is natural to look forward to going back to normal - back to the familiar - back to the routine.
Before leaving all of this behind, however, I challenge you to evaluate the work you have done, the adjustments you have made, and the skills you have learned. Identify the good things that can continue to enhance your teaching post-COVID. Here are a few things that I have learned:
· I am excited to have a large library of instructional videos to use with my collegiate
class piano students as supplements to in-person teaching.
· I am also excited to have learned how to teach private lessons within the Zoom platform
and be able to use this as an alternative to cancelled lessons in cases of mild student
sickness or inclement weather in the future.
· The need to describe things with great clarity and without the aid of adequate visual
demonstration has forced me to become more conscious of how I use my words. I will
no longer take for granted the ability to show a student how to do something but I am
grateful to know that my words are powerful when chosen with care.
· And, lastly, I am extremely excited that my students have experience recording videos
for competitions, festivals, and recital performances. This is an important skill and I
plan to continue utilizing recordings in a variety of ways in my teaching.
As Wilma Rudolph (1956 and 1960 African American Olympian and native of Clarksville, Tennessee) stated:
“The potential for greatness lives within each of us.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to adapt, to learn, to change, and to tap into our own potential. Best wishes in your teaching and keep looking for that greatness!
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