May 12, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode of the Scrappy Piano Teacher Podcast, host Jaclyn Mrozek shares her journey as an independent music teacher, emphasizing the importance of having a teaching philosophy.
She recounts a recent experience accompanying a choir concert, which led her to reflect on her teaching methods and the value of self-questioning. The episode provides insights into crafting a personal teaching philosophy, discussing its significance in shaping studio culture, communication with students and parents, and defining success in music education.
Jaclyn offers a four-part framework for developing a teaching philosophy, encouraging teachers to articulate their purpose, approach, priorities, and vision of success.
Grab the Teaching Philosophy Template Here https://pianokats.kit.com/teachingphilosophy
Beyond Measure Episode 13: Cheers to Simple-Philosophy Building - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-13-cheers-to-simple-philosophy-building/id1530440503?i=1000504950989
Subscribe and more at www.scrappypianoteacher.com
Questions? Contact Jaclyn@scrappypianoteacher.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:04):
Hello, hello, welcome to the Scrappy Piano Teacher podcast,
the show for independent music teachers who are building
studios with heart, grit, maybe a whole lot of coffee.
I am your host, Jacqueline Rosick.
You can call me Jackie. And after 27 years of teaching
piano, 10 years of homeschooling, and of course
running my own studio at the same time, I know that the path
(00:27):
to a successful teaching life isnot only polished, but it is
possible. This podcast is here to give you
real world strategies, honest encouragement, and the
occasional messy, real down to earth story from the trenches.
Because you don't have to have it all figured out to build
something great. I'm so excited you're here and
(00:50):
let's dive in. All right, y'all, just when you
think, OK, the recital is over, now I can relax.
You remember that you committed to accompanying your son's choir
concert just days before the event.
We're talking like the choir director showing up at your door
on Saturday to drop off the music for you to play at the
(01:13):
concert on Thursday. Yeah, I am talking about me
here. So overall, I'm going to tell
you about how this went. OK, the music itself was not so
bad. Most of it was pretty sight
readable. You know, I kind of had to go
over some things, but it was fine.
There was one song that had me alittle nervous, but I did I
think a pretty decent job of editing last minute fixes and
(01:34):
cutting what I needed to all that stuff.
Regardless, I like feeling prepared and overconfident.
I should have asked for the music weeks ago when I first
found out about the event so that I would have a lot of more
time to just prepare and be ready, but I didn't.
But that's OK. Anyway, the night comes this
past Thursday and yeah, the church was huge.
So it's a homeschool. It's a homeschool group.
(01:55):
So we run out churches, right? But this is like a full on mega
church and it's completely packed.
We're on the stage, we're facingthe audience, totally packed
out, balconies packed out. I had to follow a choir
director, which is something I had never done before.
I've accompanied weddings, Christmas parties, business
events, and I play regularly at my own church, which does not
have a choir director. But this for me was a first, and
(02:18):
Long story short, it was not nearly as clean as I had hoped.
My nerves definitely got the best of me.
We made it through though, and Ithink overall it was fine.
I think all the parents were like, oh little Johnny, you're
so good. But you know, for me, as someone
who hears everything and noticeseverything, it's been haunting
(02:39):
me just a little bit. Just a little bit.
I would be lying if I said the doubts had not kicked in in my
brain. It threw me off more than I
expected. I found myself second guessing
things I normally feel pretty solid about.
And I'm not talking about just musically with myself as a
(03:00):
pianist, but also in my teachingtoo.
You know, that little voice thatcrept in like, why am I even
doing this? Who do you think you are to
actually be teaching people whenyou can't even be as successful
as you want? And something like that.
And, you know, I had to remind myself at one point that
question yourself is not fun. And some would be like, oh,
(03:23):
that's such a gift. You know, it's a good thing to
question yourself all the time. Sometimes I feel like I question
myself too much, but I think it can can be a gift when we're
brave enough to answer it and face it and see what we can do
to improve. And I think that today, what
I've been planning on talking about for my first episode as a
scrappy piano teacher is for my teaching philosophy.
(03:47):
That's what I'm going to do. Sorry, I totally lost my train
of thought there. But I haven't been thinking
about this episode for a few weeks, and I've been preparing a
resource for it. And the timing of this
accompaniment fiasco, I think had a really good timing because
in preparing for this podcast, Ihave been forced to look at my
(04:08):
own teaching philosophy and see because I need to revise my own.
And as I've been doing it, it's been given me a reminder of my
why and why I'm doing this and all of my goals for my studio
and my goals for my students. And it really helped ground me
through this whole process. So I'm really excited to share
this with you. Let's go ahead and talk about
why your teaching philosophy isn't just something to keep you
(04:31):
personally grounded, but it's also one of the most strategic
tools you can have as a studio owner.
And if you're looking at, if you're like, I don't know what a
teaching philosophy is, I don't have one.
Should I have one of those? Should I have known about this
Am IA real teacher if I don't have a teaching philosophy?
Yes, you are. I didn't know about this until
(04:51):
some years ago myself, but I wanted to talk about why your
teaching philosophy isn't just something to keep you personally
grounded. It's also one of the most
strategic tools you can have as a studio owner.
Because here's the thing, your philosophy doesn't just shape
how you feel, it shapes how you lead.
It shapes how you communicate and it's going to shape how your
(05:14):
studio operates. And when you have it written out
and it is clear and it is sharedwith the world, your teaching
philosophy is going to help communicate expectations to
parents and students. It's going to build trust with
new families before they even walk through your door and
(05:34):
before they're even, you know, wowed by you and all your
musical amazingness. It's going to attract the right
fit students, the ones who alignwith your values and your goals.
And This is why I recommend not just writing a teaching
philosophy, but actually using it.
And when I say use it, like frame it and post it in your
(05:56):
studio. I first learned about teaching
philosophies when I was taking acourse through the RCM, the
Royal Conservatory of Music. I was doing it during the
pandemic and I started researching teaching
philosophies because I was like,I'm going to write the best
teaching philosophy on the planet.
And that's actually how I found Christina Whitlock's podcast
(06:18):
Beyond Measure, because she did an episode on teaching
philosophies, which after you complete this podcast, you need
to find that one. I'm going to find the episode
and put in the show notes. So shout out to Christina.
That's how we found her. Actually, that's how we found
her podcast was by researching my teaching philosophy.
And now she's my buddy, my pianoteacher friend.
And it's just so much fun how the world works.
(06:41):
But anyway, she talked about how, I don't remember, it was
like a ballet teacher or somebody, one of the teachers
for one of her daughters, and they had posted their teaching
philosophy and she read it. And it was just so beautiful.
And I've never forgotten her saying that.
So I have mine framed really nicely in my studio.
It's in a pretty white, elegant little vintage looking frame.
(07:04):
And yeah, and people read it allthe time and it's really great.
OK, I got off course there. So you want to actually use it
by framing it in your studio, inthe waiting area, if you have
one, or just framing it somewhere.
You want to include a simplifiedversion in your welcome packet
each year right alongside your calendar and your policies.
(07:25):
OK, Keep your teaching philosophy next to your
policies. You want to post it on your
website so prospective families can read it before they even
contact you and again, before they're wowed by all your
wonderful musical awesomeness. And we have to remember that
teaching philosophies are not fluff, OK?
They are clarity for everyone. It shows that you have thought
about who you are. It shows that you have thought
(07:46):
about how you teach, and it shows that you have really
thought about what your studio stands for.
And that kind of clarity helps families feel confident about
choosing you. And it's also going to help you
stick to your own boundaries when things get busy or when
someone pushes back on your policies.
Your teaching philosophy can kind of serve as, you know, your
(08:09):
little North Star. Like it's going to give you just
that much more bravery. Like, no, this is who I am.
I've already made a decision. This is who I am.
This is why I want to run my studio.
I'm not going to question these decisions because I've already
put thought into it. You have built something
intentional. And so here's the other thing.
Having a written teaching philosophy is just as essential
as having your clear studio policies.
(08:30):
Your policies tell families how things will run, but your
teaching philosophy tells them why you do what you do.
It gives heart to your structure.
And when both are aligned and thoughtfully shared, they create
a studio experience that feels not only organized, but
intentional and values driven. So let's talk about how to
actually get started, because I know that this can feel a little
(08:52):
intimidating. I was telling you before I first
wrote my teaching philosophy during a certification course
through the Royal Conservatory of Music, it was a requirement.
It was actually, I feel like it was the first thing that I had
to do and I was going to treat it like homework.
It was all about the grade for me because I wanted to be a
superstar in my class, Teacher'spet.
But once I actually sat down to write it, I realized how much
(09:14):
clarity it gave me, not just about how I teach, but again
about why I run my studio the way that I do.
And it forced me to stop and ask, why do I teach the way that
I do? What do I really want my
students to take away from theirtime with me in our lesson?
What makes my studio different? And how do I communicate that
clearly? You know, those questions helped
(09:35):
me shape not just my teaching style, but how I talk with my
parents, set expectations, structure lessons, and lead my
studio as a whole. So if you're ready to write or
update your own philosophy, I'm going to give you I.
I looked at mine and I was trying to simplify it for this
podcast. So I kind of came up with a four
part, we'll call it a four part framework that can help you get
(09:58):
started even if all you have is a notebook and 10 minutes
between students and you just want to start thinking about
this. OK, so #1 let's start with your
purpose. Why?
Why do you teach music? What do you believe it offers
your students that nothing else can?
And how do you want to start things out?
Like, how do you want to get things moving right?
In my studio, it starts with connection.
(10:20):
I found that when students feel comfortable with the piano,
their musical abilities grow so much faster.
Meaning they need to be comfortable with me and they
need to be comfortable with the instrument itself.
My studio, that relationship is the absolute foundation.
So if we were going that route, you could say something like, I
teach piano to help students build confidence and express
themselves creatively. I believe music gives students a
(10:42):
safe space to grow, explore, andfeel proud of what they can do.
In my own philosophy right now, it says my initial approach with
each student, regardless of age or ability, is simply to
establish a relationship. When a student is comfortable,
their musical abilities hold no bounds.
OK #2 you want to describe your approach.
What does a lesson look like? How do you adapt to different
(11:04):
students and needs? I use a structured plan that
includes technical skills, sightreading, method books, and ear
training. Obviously if I took an RCM
course you guys probably can assume that I use the RCM exams,
but I always allow room to tweakbased on the students learning
style or energy that day so you can structure with flexibility,
(11:24):
all that kind of stuff. Some examples for that would be
my lessons include technique, reading, and creative
activities. I plan each week but stay
responsive to what each student needs.
I use group classes to build ensemble skills and confidence
through regular performances. Another example, this one's from
my own philosophy. I'm I've tried to pull something
(11:46):
from my own philosophy and all of these, but each student is
incredibly different and each Lesson plan often requires
flexibility and tweaking. While I have a structured plan,
I adjust it constantly to meet individual needs.
OK #3 Explain your priorities. What do you value in your
studio? Do you value exams, expression,
(12:09):
creativity, performances, consistency, like practice,
collaboration, being out in the community?
You know what guides your teaching decisions?
So my students come with different goals.
Some want to play in church, some want to participate in
exams, some just want to enjoy music and that's all.
And that's why I set both short and long term goals that are
tailored to the students. So some examples that I put in
(12:31):
mind is we set small attainable goals alongside longer term goal
ones like recitals or evaluations.
I prioritize creativity so we regularly explore improvisation
and composition alongside core skills.
This one's from my actual philosophy.
It says short term goals might be learning a new skill or
polishing A recital piece. Long term goals include
(12:55):
recitals, evaluations, or exams.We personalize these goals and
remain flexible in how we reach them.
I also include enrichment. We study music history, music of
all cultures, composition, transposition, improv and
harmonization. Music is so much more than just
playing. It's about understanding and
creating. OK, and then the 4th one that I
(13:16):
came up with was defining what success looks like.
So when students leave your studio, what do you hope they've
gained? What's your big picture goal for
them? Because success isn't always
about musical achievement. It's about confidence,
self-expression, and independence, right?
So you want to make sure they'releaving with that toolkit and
you want everyone to know that that is your intentions.
(13:37):
Some examples for that. I want my students to leave
knowing they are capable, creative, and resilient.
Success means being able to sit down and play something that
brings them joy, whether they pursue music professionally or
not. And the last one from my own
philosophy is it's important to model lifelong learning.
I continue growing through conferences, seminars, and
(13:59):
ongoing study. Music never ends and I want my
students to see that growth is always possible.
So that's it. You can think of just four
parts. Obviously can go more in depth
than that. And my philosophy does go more
in depth than that, but you can just start that way.
You can think about what is my purpose?
What is my approach? You can think of methods too
with that, like what are your favorite go to methods and why?
(14:21):
What are your priorities and what's your definition of
success? And that, in a nutshell, is a
teaching philosophy. You don't need to write a
perfect essay. You just need a few honest
paragraphs that reflect how you show up for your students and
what kind of studio you're building.
And if you would like a little help organizing your thoughts, I
have been creating a free, well,it's free for now, a free
(14:41):
downloadable resource to go along with this episode.
I spent a lot of time on this because I didn't want it to be
fluffy and I didn't want it to be vague.
I wanted it to be a real tool that you could use that would
really help you. So it can be, it's something
that you can print, you can write on, you can visit it every
year and actually use it in yourstudio.
I will say that it is very in depth, it is very reflective,
(15:03):
and I honestly think it might feel like a lot at first glance,
but that's not to overwhelm you.It's to give you everything you
need in one place so you're not stuck staring at a blank page.
And so I put in there a page of journaling prompts, whether
you're a journaling person or not, you can just look at it and
just like think about your answers.
That's fine. But I don't think it would hurt
(15:23):
to to journal your thoughts on these prompts to help you
reflect before you actually put this in your philosophy and
start writing. I also put in a fill in the
blank template. So it's a philosophy template
based on the exact structure that I used in my own
philosophy. Because remember, that's why I
looked and I found Miss Christina.
(15:45):
I really wanted to get a good grade.
I did get a really good grade, by the way, not to brag or
anything. Anyway, I do offer that at least
the example, so you can see how it all comes together when
you're done. OK.
And then I included a studio snapshot page that I thought was
kind of fun. There's like some little check
boxes where you can clarify yourvalues, your priorities, the
(16:07):
kinds of students you love working with.
And again, after you're done, you got to print it, you got to
frame it, you got to include a condensed version in your
welcome packet and your policy handbook each year.
If you have a handbook or a welcome packet, I don't know.
I don't know why I called it a handbook, sorry.
Does anybody actually like do a handbook?
Anyway, so I decided that I'm just going to keep it free until
(16:29):
my next resource comes out, which I don't even know when
that's going to be. So the link is in the show
notes. I'll put it in there.
It's meant to support you, not stress you out.
You don't have to finish it in one sitting, but I do recommend
checking it out. If you've never done a teaching
philosophy for sure. Or if you want to refresh,
that's fine. You might find some really good
ideas. You don't write anything
profound. You just have to start stuff.
(16:49):
Thanks guys. That's all I have for today.
I appreciate you so much for joining me on my very first
official Scrappy Piano Teacher podcast episode.
The next one will be two weeks from now.
I know that writing a teaching philosophy might not sound like
the most exciting thing on your To Do List, but I wanted it to
be on my first episode because Ifeel like it's one of the first
(17:12):
steps we should take is teachers.
And it's a step that most of us skip.
So I hope that this episode reminded you just how powerful
that kind of thing can be. Again, it's not about having
perfect words or crafting something fancy for a website.
It's about getting clear on who you are, what you value, and the
kind of studio you are building not just for your students, but
(17:32):
for yourself. Because the truth is, teaching
has hard weeks. It has messy performances,
unexpected pivots, and moments that really shake your
confidence. But when you have something to
come back to, something that reminds you why you started, it
changes everything. So even if you don't use a
download, I hope you're walking away today with the clarity and
confidence to write a few sentences that feel true to you.
(17:54):
That's really all a teaching philosophy is, a reflection of
how you teach, lead, and show upfor your students.
If this episode was helpful, I would love it if you shared it
with a teacher friend who could use that reminder to spreading
the word about the Scrappy PianoTeacher Podcast.
And don't forget to grab the free resource while it's still
free. It's going to be LinkedIn the
show notes. Anybody who is subscribed to my
(18:16):
e-mail list will be getting an e-mail here shortly with a free
link as well. Until next time, keep teaching
from your values, keep showing up Scrappy, and keep building
the studio you believe in. And I will see you guys later.
Bye.
Hello, hello, welcome to the Scrappy Piano Teacher podcast,
the show for independent music teachers who are building
studios with heart, grit, maybe a whole lot of coffee.
I am your host, Jacqueline Rosick.
You can call me Jackie. And after 27 years of teaching
piano, 10 years of homeschooling, and of course
running my own studio at the same time, I know that the path
(00:27):
to a successful teaching life isnot only polished, but it is
possible. This podcast is here to give you
real world strategies, honest encouragement, and the
occasional messy, real down to earth story from the trenches.
Because you don't have to have it all figured out to build
something great. I'm so excited you're here and
(00:50):
let's dive in. All right, y'all, just when you
think, OK, the recital is over, now I can relax.
You remember that you committed to accompanying your son's choir
concert just days before the event.
We're talking like the choir director showing up at your door
on Saturday to drop off the music for you to play at the
(01:13):
concert on Thursday. Yeah, I am talking about me
here. So overall, I'm going to tell
you about how this went. OK, the music itself was not so
bad. Most of it was pretty sight
readable. You know, I kind of had to go
over some things, but it was fine.
There was one song that had me alittle nervous, but I did I
think a pretty decent job of editing last minute fixes and
(01:34):
cutting what I needed to all that stuff.
Regardless, I like feeling prepared and overconfident.
I should have asked for the music weeks ago when I first
found out about the event so that I would have a lot of more
time to just prepare and be ready, but I didn't.
But that's OK. Anyway, the night comes this
past Thursday and yeah, the church was huge.
So it's a homeschool. It's a homeschool group.
(01:55):
So we run out churches, right? But this is like a full on mega
church and it's completely packed.
We're on the stage, we're facingthe audience, totally packed
out, balconies packed out. I had to follow a choir
director, which is something I had never done before.
I've accompanied weddings, Christmas parties, business
events, and I play regularly at my own church, which does not
have a choir director. But this for me was a first, and
(02:18):
Long story short, it was not nearly as clean as I had hoped.
My nerves definitely got the best of me.
We made it through though, and Ithink overall it was fine.
I think all the parents were like, oh little Johnny, you're
so good. But you know, for me, as someone
who hears everything and noticeseverything, it's been haunting
(02:39):
me just a little bit. Just a little bit.
I would be lying if I said the doubts had not kicked in in my
brain. It threw me off more than I
expected. I found myself second guessing
things I normally feel pretty solid about.
And I'm not talking about just musically with myself as a
(03:00):
pianist, but also in my teachingtoo.
You know, that little voice thatcrept in like, why am I even
doing this? Who do you think you are to
actually be teaching people whenyou can't even be as successful
as you want? And something like that.
And, you know, I had to remind myself at one point that
question yourself is not fun. And some would be like, oh,
(03:23):
that's such a gift. You know, it's a good thing to
question yourself all the time. Sometimes I feel like I question
myself too much, but I think it can can be a gift when we're
brave enough to answer it and face it and see what we can do
to improve. And I think that today, what
I've been planning on talking about for my first episode as a
scrappy piano teacher is for my teaching philosophy.
(03:47):
That's what I'm going to do. Sorry, I totally lost my train
of thought there. But I haven't been thinking
about this episode for a few weeks, and I've been preparing a
resource for it. And the timing of this
accompaniment fiasco, I think had a really good timing because
in preparing for this podcast, Ihave been forced to look at my
(04:08):
own teaching philosophy and see because I need to revise my own.
And as I've been doing it, it's been given me a reminder of my
why and why I'm doing this and all of my goals for my studio
and my goals for my students. And it really helped ground me
through this whole process. So I'm really excited to share
this with you. Let's go ahead and talk about
why your teaching philosophy isn't just something to keep you
(04:31):
personally grounded, but it's also one of the most strategic
tools you can have as a studio owner.
And if you're looking at, if you're like, I don't know what a
teaching philosophy is, I don't have one.
Should I have one of those? Should I have known about this
Am IA real teacher if I don't have a teaching philosophy?
Yes, you are. I didn't know about this until
(04:51):
some years ago myself, but I wanted to talk about why your
teaching philosophy isn't just something to keep you personally
grounded. It's also one of the most
strategic tools you can have as a studio owner.
Because here's the thing, your philosophy doesn't just shape
how you feel, it shapes how you lead.
It shapes how you communicate and it's going to shape how your
(05:14):
studio operates. And when you have it written out
and it is clear and it is sharedwith the world, your teaching
philosophy is going to help communicate expectations to
parents and students. It's going to build trust with
new families before they even walk through your door and
(05:34):
before they're even, you know, wowed by you and all your
musical amazingness. It's going to attract the right
fit students, the ones who alignwith your values and your goals.
And This is why I recommend not just writing a teaching
philosophy, but actually using it.
And when I say use it, like frame it and post it in your
(05:56):
studio. I first learned about teaching
philosophies when I was taking acourse through the RCM, the
Royal Conservatory of Music. I was doing it during the
pandemic and I started researching teaching
philosophies because I was like,I'm going to write the best
teaching philosophy on the planet.
And that's actually how I found Christina Whitlock's podcast
(06:18):
Beyond Measure, because she did an episode on teaching
philosophies, which after you complete this podcast, you need
to find that one. I'm going to find the episode
and put in the show notes. So shout out to Christina.
That's how we found her. Actually, that's how we found
her podcast was by researching my teaching philosophy.
And now she's my buddy, my pianoteacher friend.
And it's just so much fun how the world works.
(06:41):
But anyway, she talked about how, I don't remember, it was
like a ballet teacher or somebody, one of the teachers
for one of her daughters, and they had posted their teaching
philosophy and she read it. And it was just so beautiful.
And I've never forgotten her saying that.
So I have mine framed really nicely in my studio.
It's in a pretty white, elegant little vintage looking frame.
(07:04):
And yeah, and people read it allthe time and it's really great.
OK, I got off course there. So you want to actually use it
by framing it in your studio, inthe waiting area, if you have
one, or just framing it somewhere.
You want to include a simplifiedversion in your welcome packet
each year right alongside your calendar and your policies.
(07:25):
OK, Keep your teaching philosophy next to your
policies. You want to post it on your
website so prospective families can read it before they even
contact you and again, before they're wowed by all your
wonderful musical awesomeness. And we have to remember that
teaching philosophies are not fluff, OK?
They are clarity for everyone. It shows that you have thought
about who you are. It shows that you have thought
(07:46):
about how you teach, and it shows that you have really
thought about what your studio stands for.
And that kind of clarity helps families feel confident about
choosing you. And it's also going to help you
stick to your own boundaries when things get busy or when
someone pushes back on your policies.
Your teaching philosophy can kind of serve as, you know, your
(08:09):
little North Star. Like it's going to give you just
that much more bravery. Like, no, this is who I am.
I've already made a decision. This is who I am.
This is why I want to run my studio.
I'm not going to question these decisions because I've already
put thought into it. You have built something
intentional. And so here's the other thing.
Having a written teaching philosophy is just as essential
as having your clear studio policies.
(08:30):
Your policies tell families how things will run, but your
teaching philosophy tells them why you do what you do.
It gives heart to your structure.
And when both are aligned and thoughtfully shared, they create
a studio experience that feels not only organized, but
intentional and values driven. So let's talk about how to
actually get started, because I know that this can feel a little
(08:52):
intimidating. I was telling you before I first
wrote my teaching philosophy during a certification course
through the Royal Conservatory of Music, it was a requirement.
It was actually, I feel like it was the first thing that I had
to do and I was going to treat it like homework.
It was all about the grade for me because I wanted to be a
superstar in my class, Teacher'spet.
But once I actually sat down to write it, I realized how much
(09:14):
clarity it gave me, not just about how I teach, but again
about why I run my studio the way that I do.
And it forced me to stop and ask, why do I teach the way that
I do? What do I really want my
students to take away from theirtime with me in our lesson?
What makes my studio different? And how do I communicate that
clearly? You know, those questions helped
(09:35):
me shape not just my teaching style, but how I talk with my
parents, set expectations, structure lessons, and lead my
studio as a whole. So if you're ready to write or
update your own philosophy, I'm going to give you I.
I looked at mine and I was trying to simplify it for this
podcast. So I kind of came up with a four
part, we'll call it a four part framework that can help you get
(09:58):
started even if all you have is a notebook and 10 minutes
between students and you just want to start thinking about
this. OK, so #1 let's start with your
purpose. Why?
Why do you teach music? What do you believe it offers
your students that nothing else can?
And how do you want to start things out?
Like, how do you want to get things moving right?
In my studio, it starts with connection.
(10:20):
I found that when students feel comfortable with the piano,
their musical abilities grow so much faster.
Meaning they need to be comfortable with me and they
need to be comfortable with the instrument itself.
My studio, that relationship is the absolute foundation.
So if we were going that route, you could say something like, I
teach piano to help students build confidence and express
themselves creatively. I believe music gives students a
(10:42):
safe space to grow, explore, andfeel proud of what they can do.
In my own philosophy right now, it says my initial approach with
each student, regardless of age or ability, is simply to
establish a relationship. When a student is comfortable,
their musical abilities hold no bounds.
OK #2 you want to describe your approach.
What does a lesson look like? How do you adapt to different
(11:04):
students and needs? I use a structured plan that
includes technical skills, sightreading, method books, and ear
training. Obviously if I took an RCM
course you guys probably can assume that I use the RCM exams,
but I always allow room to tweakbased on the students learning
style or energy that day so you can structure with flexibility,
(11:24):
all that kind of stuff. Some examples for that would be
my lessons include technique, reading, and creative
activities. I plan each week but stay
responsive to what each student needs.
I use group classes to build ensemble skills and confidence
through regular performances. Another example, this one's from
my own philosophy. I'm I've tried to pull something
(11:46):
from my own philosophy and all of these, but each student is
incredibly different and each Lesson plan often requires
flexibility and tweaking. While I have a structured plan,
I adjust it constantly to meet individual needs.
OK #3 Explain your priorities. What do you value in your
studio? Do you value exams, expression,
(12:09):
creativity, performances, consistency, like practice,
collaboration, being out in the community?
You know what guides your teaching decisions?
So my students come with different goals.
Some want to play in church, some want to participate in
exams, some just want to enjoy music and that's all.
And that's why I set both short and long term goals that are
tailored to the students. So some examples that I put in
(12:31):
mind is we set small attainable goals alongside longer term goal
ones like recitals or evaluations.
I prioritize creativity so we regularly explore improvisation
and composition alongside core skills.
This one's from my actual philosophy.
It says short term goals might be learning a new skill or
polishing A recital piece. Long term goals include
(12:55):
recitals, evaluations, or exams.We personalize these goals and
remain flexible in how we reach them.
I also include enrichment. We study music history, music of
all cultures, composition, transposition, improv and
harmonization. Music is so much more than just
playing. It's about understanding and
creating. OK, and then the 4th one that I
(13:16):
came up with was defining what success looks like.
So when students leave your studio, what do you hope they've
gained? What's your big picture goal for
them? Because success isn't always
about musical achievement. It's about confidence,
self-expression, and independence, right?
So you want to make sure they'releaving with that toolkit and
you want everyone to know that that is your intentions.
(13:37):
Some examples for that. I want my students to leave
knowing they are capable, creative, and resilient.
Success means being able to sit down and play something that
brings them joy, whether they pursue music professionally or
not. And the last one from my own
philosophy is it's important to model lifelong learning.
I continue growing through conferences, seminars, and
(13:59):
ongoing study. Music never ends and I want my
students to see that growth is always possible.
So that's it. You can think of just four
parts. Obviously can go more in depth
than that. And my philosophy does go more
in depth than that, but you can just start that way.
You can think about what is my purpose?
What is my approach? You can think of methods too
with that, like what are your favorite go to methods and why?
(14:21):
What are your priorities and what's your definition of
success? And that, in a nutshell, is a
teaching philosophy. You don't need to write a
perfect essay. You just need a few honest
paragraphs that reflect how you show up for your students and
what kind of studio you're building.
And if you would like a little help organizing your thoughts, I
have been creating a free, well,it's free for now, a free
(14:41):
downloadable resource to go along with this episode.
I spent a lot of time on this because I didn't want it to be
fluffy and I didn't want it to be vague.
I wanted it to be a real tool that you could use that would
really help you. So it can be, it's something
that you can print, you can write on, you can visit it every
year and actually use it in yourstudio.
I will say that it is very in depth, it is very reflective,
(15:03):
and I honestly think it might feel like a lot at first glance,
but that's not to overwhelm you.It's to give you everything you
need in one place so you're not stuck staring at a blank page.
And so I put in there a page of journaling prompts, whether
you're a journaling person or not, you can just look at it and
just like think about your answers.
That's fine. But I don't think it would hurt
(15:23):
to to journal your thoughts on these prompts to help you
reflect before you actually put this in your philosophy and
start writing. I also put in a fill in the
blank template. So it's a philosophy template
based on the exact structure that I used in my own
philosophy. Because remember, that's why I
looked and I found Miss Christina.
(15:45):
I really wanted to get a good grade.
I did get a really good grade, by the way, not to brag or
anything. Anyway, I do offer that at least
the example, so you can see how it all comes together when
you're done. OK.
And then I included a studio snapshot page that I thought was
kind of fun. There's like some little check
boxes where you can clarify yourvalues, your priorities, the
(16:07):
kinds of students you love working with.
And again, after you're done, you got to print it, you got to
frame it, you got to include a condensed version in your
welcome packet and your policy handbook each year.
If you have a handbook or a welcome packet, I don't know.
I don't know why I called it a handbook, sorry.
Does anybody actually like do a handbook?
Anyway, so I decided that I'm just going to keep it free until
(16:29):
my next resource comes out, which I don't even know when
that's going to be. So the link is in the show
notes. I'll put it in there.
It's meant to support you, not stress you out.
You don't have to finish it in one sitting, but I do recommend
checking it out. If you've never done a teaching
philosophy for sure. Or if you want to refresh,
that's fine. You might find some really good
ideas. You don't write anything
profound. You just have to start stuff.
(16:49):
Thanks guys. That's all I have for today.
I appreciate you so much for joining me on my very first
official Scrappy Piano Teacher podcast episode.
The next one will be two weeks from now.
I know that writing a teaching philosophy might not sound like
the most exciting thing on your To Do List, but I wanted it to
be on my first episode because Ifeel like it's one of the first
(17:12):
steps we should take is teachers.
And it's a step that most of us skip.
So I hope that this episode reminded you just how powerful
that kind of thing can be. Again, it's not about having
perfect words or crafting something fancy for a website.
It's about getting clear on who you are, what you value, and the
kind of studio you are building not just for your students, but
(17:32):
for yourself. Because the truth is, teaching
has hard weeks. It has messy performances,
unexpected pivots, and moments that really shake your
confidence. But when you have something to
come back to, something that reminds you why you started, it
changes everything. So even if you don't use a
download, I hope you're walking away today with the clarity and
confidence to write a few sentences that feel true to you.
(17:54):
That's really all a teaching philosophy is, a reflection of
how you teach, lead, and show upfor your students.
If this episode was helpful, I would love it if you shared it
with a teacher friend who could use that reminder to spreading
the word about the Scrappy PianoTeacher Podcast.
And don't forget to grab the free resource while it's still
free. It's going to be LinkedIn the
show notes. Anybody who is subscribed to my
(18:16):
e-mail list will be getting an e-mail here shortly with a free
link as well. Until next time, keep teaching
from your values, keep showing up Scrappy, and keep building
the studio you believe in. And I will see you guys later.
Bye.
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