A misconception people have about music teaching is that it’s “elective” and therefore less academically or pedagogically rigorous. But the very best parenting, teaching, and management tricks I’ve ever learned have all been through learning to be a music teacher, or through video games.
I learned this while getting my first music education degree, and while it was my least favorite teacher at the time, his classes are the ones I steal from the most (sorry, Dr. Montemayor, you were right!). This trick comes from Robert Duke at UT Austin. In short- treat any skill deficit like a rehearsal, and make sure every opportunity to practice a skill reinforces a version of the skill your child can do.
Think of it this way: if I told you to go do a 360 spin off a diving board, chances are you would fail the very first time. And if I then said ‘ok well just try it again” you would probably fail again. If we ask a child to do something, and they fail at meeting our standards, asking them to do it again without changing the expectation will just reinforce that they “don't know how to do it”.
But if after failing at a 360 I told you “ok this time, jump and spin 90 degrees” you’d likely be much more successful. This does NOT mean I’ve changed my goal to a 90 degree spin, it means I am momentarily approximating the goal by finding a version of it I know you can do. THEN I scaffold up toward the goal- 90, 180, 270, 360 degrees, etc. and every time you are getting a reminder that you can do it and you can get closer to the goal.
Similarly, if our kids have a 5 step routine when they get home and they fail to get past step 2, we can have them practice step 1 on its own, then steps 1 and 2, steps 1, 2, 3, etc until they have practiced the whole routine.
While this is happening we are NOT criticizing them or making them feel “dumb” for needing help. Everyone needs help learning things. When kids play their favorite video games, those games are often walking them through complex button combinations or level layouts in a similar way. Plus, when we walk them through these steps and “rack up smiley faces” we’re also giving them a framework they can use the next time they get stuck on something tough, instead of giving up.
