Being a Parent of a Musical Child - Part 3: Teachability
- Aug 14, 2017
- 2 min read
It's important at every age… if you want to learn something, and you're not getting there on your own, you'll need a teacher, and you'll need to be teachable.
You can absolutely help a child who is currently unwilling to be teachable to do a complete 180. It's not something you're born with; like most things it's a learned trait. You can start by breaking down each component of teachability.
Start with helping your child to identify their strengths and weaknesses. Both are required for this to be a positive experience; one builds confidence, the other builds humility. What parts of what they're learning are they picking up quickly and doing well? What parts will they have to work harder on, but get there with work?
Your child should be willing to discuss their strengths and weaknesses with their instructor. This will help the instructor tailor their lessons to help the student along, to nourish the strengths and strengthen the weaknesses.
Help your child to understand they can learn from anyone. Even an advanced student can learn something from a novice; every path is unique to the individual, and anyone can have skills that they have yet to come across. Teach them that they should always be open to taking in new information, from every resource possible.
Plenty of people are afraid of making mistakes. Your child should understand that mistakes are okay. No one becomes a virtuoso overnight, even the most talented put in countless hours of practice. Mistakes are going to happen, push through them, and overcome them.
By the same token, it's also okay to be wrong. No one is perfect, nor is anyone ever expected to be. Embracing when you are wrong helps move past it, to learning a better way.
Lastly but by no means least important, never ever ever quit when you fail. There are many failures on the road to success and overcoming them will make success feel so profoundly… more. Keep up the good work, you will get there before you know it!
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