Over the break, I interviewed my piano teacher Clara. I have been studying with Clara ever since I started piano at the age of 8, and only stopped lessons when I moved away from Toronto to come study music at Western. Even when I first began, I knew that she was a dedicated educator who was fully committed to the furthering of musical knowledge in her students. During the interview process, I discovered much about how Clara went about teaching and why she has kept up her teaching throughout the years.
Clara’s choice of profession had remained the same from since she was in high school: She always wanted to be a piano teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. According to her, during one of her high school years, her assignment was to write an essay about the job she would like to have upon leaving university, and since then she has said that teaching piano is her dream job and she would not want to do anything else for a living. While I knew that Clara was a dedicated musician from since she was young, I was not aware of how much music had influenced her life from such a young age, and it is truly inspiration to see that music can create such an impact that students would feel as if teaching music is their dream job upon leaving school.
Clara also talked about how teaching can influence someone, and specifically teaching music. She talked about how teaching music can influence young minds, and help to teach them skills that could be applicable later in life. The impact that learning music has is undeniable, and she said that one of the most fulfilling parts about teaching is watching somebody blossom, grow and mature through learning music. The way that this was stated was quite eye-opening for me: I had always taken for granted how much of a role music played in my life, but I realize now that thanks to learning music, much influenced by Clara, I have been shaped into the person I am today.
Clara also talked about her approach to teaching, and how she would recommend aspiring teachers to structure their teaching. Clara said that she had initially taken on a more militaristic way of teaching her students, similar to how she herself had been taught. However, found upon experimentation that a more careful and understanding style is much more effective for convincing potentially unwilling students to strive to complete their goals. Clara highly suggested for the teacher to be themselves while teaching: not to try to create a persona that is not true to who you are. She also said that it is always of the highest importance to listen to your students, and to empathize with them. Understanding a student is the best way to communicate to them what you want, and can also tend to give them motivation to continue achieving their goals. I myself was surprised to find that Clara had initially taken on a militaristic style of teaching: having never had anything but a calm and understanding environment with her, I could see how that method of teaching suited her much better, and truly carried her far. While I always thought that, if put into a teaching position, I would be an empathetic teacher, I began to question if I would always be able to keep a happy face. When teaching in the past, I have often become short tempered and frank with students who were not cooperating, and talking with Clara made me realize that I might have to do some self reflection to keep myself kind and empathetic while teaching.
I certainly learned much from this interview with Clara: it was so interesting to see how she views teaching as more than just a job: how she could be so devoted as to devote over forty to teaching, and yet still having no desire to retire is truly inspiring. I wish her all the best, and am privileged to have spent most of my life studying piano with her.
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