Some of the recent most active conversations I've seen in teacher forums reside around creating student ownership for their progress or there lack of.  Ownership is a muscle.  It is not something that is simply given to a student because he or she reaches a certain age.  As a matter of fact, if it is not nurtured in a student over time, the muscle will fail when it is put under strain.  It's just like working out.  Would you expect to be able to bench press your body weight if you had never lifted weights before?  Over course not.  As a matter of fact, you would probably risk great injury if you attempted such a feat.  Such is the case creating growth ownership. 

Growth ownership comes in stages.  These stages are related to both age and experience. In my thirty year career, I have witnessed seven year olds who have more ownership for their progress then some sixteen year olds. Those younger learners were most frequently nurtured into accountable learners by their parents.  While the sixteen year olds had not yet had the model or guidance to adopt the adage "It it's to be, it's up to me." It's imperative that students learn how to flex these new muscles and I always felt it was both my job and in my student's best interest to nurture this important skill.

Early in a student's tutelage, the first stage is to make sure the student has his or her materials ready for the lesson.  That simply means bringing the necessary books to the lesson.  The important strategy from the teacher is to acknowledge that the student has done this by validating this level of responsibility.  Often, as teachers we miss opportunities to reinforce behavior that we want repeated.  A simple "Hey I'm proud of how you remembered all of your music and assignment books," will do wonders for creating a repeat behavior. 

As an Empowered Music Teacher, after introducing a new concept during the lesson, try asking the student how many more times they think they will need to review the concept before they feel comfortable.  Don't ask tell you when they think they have it mastered.  You want them keyed in on the feeling they create when something is mastered, because ultimately, the feeling of pride is both their internal GPS AND their reward.  Condition that level of thinking early in a student's education and it will reap rich rewards as the student grows, both in music and in life.  

A student might say "I'll do it three more times."  After their chosen three times (choices begin to create ownership) ask them if they feel proud or if they would like to do it several more times.  You might be pleasantly surprised when a student turns to you and says, "I think I need two more times."  Then simply repeat the process until they feel comfortable and proud, all the while sitting back and ignoring your burning desire to  correct them. Allow them to figure it out on their, asking you questions if they decide they need to.   Don't forget to reinforce the behavior with a simple validation, "I loved watching you work on that on your own.  It was exciting to see you correcting your mistakes all by yourself.  Great job!"
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The tips in this blog are culled from my two books, Coffee With Ray and Lessons With Matt.  If you would like  more strategies that will both nurture your students into self-directed learners while making your job less stressful and more rewarding, please check them out on Amazon.  ​  ​​

Once upon a time there was a young girl who went for a walk in the woods.  She came upon a home.  She entered the home to find three bowls of porridge on the table.  She tried all three.  One was too hot, one was too cold, one was just right.  As she toured the rest of the house, she came upon three chairs.  One was too hard, one was too soft, one was just right. Side stepping the fact that she was trespassing, there's an important facilitation lesson to be learned from this age-old children's story.

Here it is.  Only the person who experiences the task (in Goldilocks' case, eating and sitting) knows whether or not the task is too hard, too easy or just right.  As an Empowered Music Teacher, you may make suggestions as to what you think is possible for your student, but in order for a student to become accountable for their own progress (and responsible for the there lack of) they must also become responsible for creating their own goals. Goal setting, or what I prefer to call goal GETTING, (anyone can set a goal, getting or achieving that goal is an entirely different matter) is an acquirable skill.  

One of the most important things an Empowered Music Teacher can do to  create accountability in their students is to remove themselves from the student's playing field. A coach doesn't get on the field with his players.  He stays on the sidelines and lets the players play their game.  Yes, he provides feedback and suggestions, he may even call a play, but the players must execute.  The same goes for the student-Empowered Teacher relationship. 

The students need to look at themselves in order to become accountable for their progress.  They cannot look at their teacher and say "You chose the challenge and it was too hard. You made me do it."  If this was the case (as it was for me at the beginning of my career), the hard truth is, the student is correct.  If the student was not part of their weekly curriculum making process, they can then take the focus off of themselves and place blame on the teacher.  That's why it is imperative that the teacher observe, make the student aware and potentially suggest solutions, but, it is up to the student to either accept the solution or come up with a different set of goals and then decide how much or how little they will achieve by the next lesson. 

Am I suggesting that the student gets to choose the literature?  Perhaps at certain levels this might be appropriate.  But to create a sense of ownership over weekly challenges and progress, the student should set his or her weekly goals. That' where the story of Goldilocks, or as I've renamed her "Goal-i-locks" becomes more then a child's fable.  It is the yardstick upon which they progress. 

Here's what you can say to your student, "Is this so hard/much, that you will feel frustrated and not successful by the next lesson?  Is it too easy/small that you will not create a feeling of accomplishment for yourself and instead feel bored? Or is it just right that you will create a feeling of pride and achievement by having to apply yourself? You choose."  ​