When I start to feel the weight of all that we have to teach our students, and the tiny amount of time we have to do it, my pace starts to get faster and faster. Often the casualty of that haste is my doing less review, practice, and reinforcement, all in an effort to have the time to “teach” more. When I start to feel that way, I remind myself of the incredible wisdom found in the phrase, “We need be taught much less than we need be reminded.” Having students spend more time reviewing and savoring what they already can do well will certainly help them sense a feeling of success. Think about it this way: if I were to ask you to pick up your instrument and play a solo for your entire school faculty, would you play a piece that you are still struggling to learn or a piece you know well? Quite simply, that is the reason for more review.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft, Director of Education for KHS America, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. He was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.” Dr. Boonshaft was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

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