To any parents who are reading this: It is NEVER going to bother me when your little kid has a tantrum. That’s what little kids do. It’s obviously not how I prefer to spend every lesson: but tantrums and meltdowns are excellent teaching opportunities.
As a teacher, we can use these opportunities to teach about BIG FEELINGS and how to handle them, which is a really important skill. It’s important to help young students put words to what they’re feeling, and state what they need from the people around them with clarity and respect. Discipline doesn’t have to mean yelling. It can mean calm, patience, and curiosity.
I hate seeing panic in a parent’s eyes when they bring their kid in for piano and they start having a meltdown. They try bribing, begging, literally holding their kids hands to the keys, picking them up and sitting them on the bench and trying to keep them there while they’re howling and crawling away. And they keep looking up at me with these wide, deer-in-headlights looks, like “I’MSORRYI’MSORRYI’MSORRY PLEASE DON’T HATE ME, PLEASE DON’T HATE MY KID.”
Take a deeeeeeeep, cleansing breath. Really. Right now.
Innnnn…………..and Out. Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Please don’t panic. Please don’t worry. I’m a teacher. I’m literally a trained professional. This is part of what we do.
And this is now part of today’s lesson, too. It’s more important today that they learn about feelings. The piano isn’t going anywhere. The world won’t cease to spin if they don’t play Twinkle Twinkle today. Let’s have a teachable moment about feelings, and communicating, and responsibilities, and the difference between work and play time, and how you can make your work feel more like play time. Because if we’re being perfectly honestly, playing Twinkle Twinkle isn’t an important survival skill, but all that other stuff really, really is.
“Teaching music is not my main purpose. I want to make good citizens. If children hear fine music from the day of their birth and learn to play it, they develop sensitivity, discipline and endurance. They get a beautiful heart.” - Shinichi Suzuki
Eventually, I suggested a change of scenery, so we went outside. Mom said “let’s do ten jumping jacks” so we did that, and that got a little smile. Then we went back inside. She was still hanging on to the tears and whining, but I kept encouraging her to put words to what she was feeling, and tell us what was happening so we could help. Finally she choked out “I - DON’T - WANNA - PRACTICE!”
“Does practicing not feel like fun for you?”
She shook her head no.
“Well, maybe we can think of a way to make practice more fun.”
Her eyes got really wide, like that thought had literally never occurred to her before.
Eventually we figured out that we could try doing a time trade - that ten minutes of practicing means ten extra minutes to play with toys. Or to try reward stickers (she’s super into stickers). So that ten minutes of practice gets a practice sticker for the day.
But the really important thing wasn’t about piano, it was about: 1) Calming yourself down when you have BIG FEELINGS. 2) Putting words to what you’re feeling so people can help you. 3) Thinking creatively to solve problems 4) How to make something you HAVE to do feel more pleasant.
Those are really valuable life skills that will serve her throughout her life, in many different disciplines. Those are skills that go way beyond Twinkle Twinkle. As a music teacher, I’m proud that I helped those ideas form in her young brain today.
So parents, when your kid has a meltdown or a temper tantrum, don’t apologize, or panic, or keep looking at me like I hate you and your kid. I think you and your kid are great. That’s why I’m a teacher.
i only heard about this 2 months ago. its been 3 years????
Remember this started because Snyder switched Flint from a freshwater mountain lake to the polluted Flint River simply to allow his wife’s company to use the lake for bottling instead. This is a manufactured crisis of corruption and capitalism.
Also remember that the pipes corroded because they refused to pay for the chemical used to make the water less acidic.
Remember that when the first E. coli outbreak from the water popped up, the city hall was given water coolers by the state, free of charge, all while denying that the water could be unsafe to drink.
Remember that, despite having a huge budget surplus and a “rainy day fund,” set aside that could easily cover the cost of relocating the residents by buying their houses/paying their debt, or could cover a large chunk of the cost of replacing the pipes, the state has decided to continue to only put in the minimal amount of effort.
Remember that flint is majority POC, majority impoverished, and is still being faced with crippling water bills from the Detroit water supply company, where they are often charged $50 a month just to use the service, on top of the cost of their water bill.
Remember that there will now be an entire generation of children who will now be damaged by lead poisoning and damage from the multitude of neurotoxins.
Remember that this is what privatized natural resources looks like. Remember that these people are being punished for having the audacity to dare to be poor in an economy that won’t let them be anything but.
At every level, this has not been a mistake.
The State and City are most upset that people know its happening and are resisting nation-wide.
But if we lose focus they lose even the small amount of aid they’ve managed to get.
This is how they do it. It’s a siege on the public empathy. Eventually we become numb to the problem and despair. Or something bigger happens.
Also known as ”Hey maybe we shouldn’t exploit, oppress, torture and kill sentient non human animals for the sake of our taste preferences.”
HOW DIABOLICAL.
How about we solve the problem of the 1.2 billion people who rely on those animals for food so they don’t fucking starve. Or the 800 million who are starving right now.
This was a joke post but if you wanna get serious I’ll fucking get serious
You done gone walked into the fucking wrong conversation with all that ignorance.
Get the fuck out my face.
Sir we’re receiving a report of some truth bombs being dropped
hey how about we worry about the much more severe damages we’re causing to our own planet, species and entire fucking ecosystem before we care about the tiny 8 or so species that dont even have a place in the world’s ecosystem anymore.
The severe damages we are causing to our own planet?
Last night my client mentioned how after I came to his house the last time I popped up on his Facebook. He wanted to warn me that even if you turn your location services off (which I always do) it still tracks your location and if you’re in close vicinity with someone you will pop up on their Facebook. So now he knows my real name and info. Thankfully he’s very nice and warned me, just be careful ladies!! You don’t want your info in the wrong hands
I need a second phone man
Even if I have a second phone I have my other phone on right? Unless I turn it off this is unavoidable right
My profile pics are all at a distance so you can’t tell its me
My thinking is I would only bring the work phone to outcalls and leave my personal phone at home.
aaaaaaaaaaaa oh god no. Has anyone heard of ANY way to turn that off? I don’t currently have a separate phone for work.
Or just uninstall Facebook and only use it in safari
