Our February program, given by Mike Pavik, was a gift for those who attended. You know how grateful you feel to someone who suggests a book that becomes one of your top ten books? And how special if that book were a tiny book of just a little over one hundred pages? And what if that tiny book was so immpactful, that when you got to the end of it, you immediately began it again? Those of us who attended are grateful to Mike for just such a gift. But it’s a gift for those who missed it, as well. The meeting was recorded and is available to our membership on the NWSMTA website. Come and meet Mike, who is an inspiration for what you do every day.

I have assignment sheets that I give to my students to write on when they practice. When they get older, I encourage them to get a notebook for a practice journal. After reading the book Mike recommended, I will give them a bookmark to go with their practice journal. It will say…

Results from today.

Ideas for tomorrow.

Goals for next week.

Encourage your students to reach beyond what they can presently do. On the way to doing that, there will be missteps. It’s important to reframe a mistake as a compass that gives you the direction for your next step. Don’t just practice, build your brain. Then your practice will help you hear a mistake, fix it and wire the connection in your brain. In Einstein’s words, “One must develop an instinct for what one can just barely achieve through one’s greatest efforts.”

Your first perfect repetition of a measure, phrase, section or piece is not the end. It’s the new starting place. Our job as a teacher is to help the student push themselves. Amen.

What? You want to know what the name of this wonderful little book? It is The Little Book of Talent by Daniel Coyle. Check out the video of the February meeting to get Mike’s other suggestions for books that can shape a teacher’s and therefore their students’ lives.