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... bringing the joy of music to students and their teachers
In This Issue
Summer Reading List
Practice Pointers
Flute Flash
The Funnies
Mailbox
Upcoming Events
Learn More Online
Handy Resources
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Blast Book CoverDo your students start lessons then get discouraged and quit after just a few months? Educate them and their parents on the 10 surefire ways to help them get on the right track in Chapter One: Tips and Tricks for Fast Success!


Music For Life Books

Want to know a secret?

I share all of mine in my Music for Life Books -- two indispensable guides for music instructors and their students.

July 2010
Greetings!

We learn how to be good teachers from so many sources. My husband Don is a construction manager at the University of Washington. He's had 20 people in his office, which means overseeing their work and dealing with their personal issues.
      I admire Don's philosophy of giving his workers the tools and the confidence to do a good job, demanding high standards while giving them autonomy to make their own decisions, caring about them as people, not just employees, and knowing that they are more important than the product.
      In the end, Don has employees who trust him and care about doing their best.
      You can have students who do the same. This month, think outside the teaching box to learn how to manage your students in the best professional and kind way.
     I trust you will find some new techniques and inspiration with my newsletter and, of course, I don't have all the answers, so I'd love to hear your ideas too.

This newsletter is for all instrumentalists and singers but, flutists, there will be a special article in every issue just for you.

Short Summer Reading List

book & glassesHere are some interesting books that are not about music or about teaching but that will give you insight into reaching your own goals and helping your students reach theirs. They're fun reading, so give them a try!

The One Minute Manager, by Ph.D. Kenneth Blanchard (wish he was a relation). This small book packs a big punch and was the first book I read many years ago that really helped shape my teaching philosophy. Though written for office managers, you'll easily see the correlation to teaching. It's filled with ideas for setting goals, giving workers autonomy, reprimanding and praising,and many more management skills and styles you can immediately apply in your studio or classroom. Learn more.

The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, by Jack Canfield. This is a big book that examines in detail ideas about deciding what you want in life and how to get it by taking small steps and believing in yourself. Filled with true stories of people who have turned their lives around, this book offers you a blueprint to achieve your own goals. Learn more.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, by Stephen Covey. What we do every day becomes a habit, whether it helps or hurts us. Covey encourages us to be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win/win, seek first to understand then be understood, synergize, and "sharpen the saw." Learn more.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens, by Sean Covey.
You'll find ideas to help mentor the teens in your life with this book. In an entertaining style, Covey provides a step-by-step guide to help teens improve self-image, build friendships, resist peer pressure, achieve their goals, get along with their parents, and much more. In addition, this book is stuffed with cartoons, clever ideas, great quotes, and incredible stories about real teens from all over the world. (Look on the back of the Blast! book to read Sean's endorsement.) Learn more.

Practice Pointers
Don't depend heavily on practice charts. Assess how well students are doing by how well their lesson goes, not by how much they practice. If they practiced a lot and it didn't really help, they'll think practice doesn't work and they're not talented enough or that time matters and not results.

Teach them how to practice, not just how much.

Flute Flash
Learn support by playing while sitting on a big exercise ball or standing on a trampoline.


The Funnies
 
Smiley Face
J.S Bach had 20 kids; his organ had no stops!

 -Garrison Keillor




Mailbox

mailboxHere's what you've been saying

I grab your book once in a while and feel refreshed by the generosity of your thoughts and writing. I am sure it is doing well. How lucky we are to love what we do for a living.

-Michel DeBost, Professor of Flute Oberlin Conservatory

 
Upcoming Events: Speaking Engagements


September 21st, 9:00
Seattle Music Teachers Association
Seattle Sherman and Clay showroom
"Building a Website to Help Build Your Studio"

October 23rd
Greenville Music Teachers Association Seminar
(learn more)
"Transform Your Teaching"
"Do Something Different"
"Jump Start Your Teaching"
"Making Money Making Music"
All-Day seminar
Bob Jones University
Greenville, South Carolina

November 16th
Clark County Music Teachers Association
Vancouver, Washington
10:00 a.m. - noon
"Transform Your Teaching"

February 18th, 2011
MENC Northwest Division Conference
(learn more)
Bellevue, Washington
"Tips and Tricks For Teaching Flute"

February 19th, 2011
MENC Northwest Division Conference
(learn more)
Bellevue, Washington
8:00 - 9:15 a.m.
"Jump Start Your Teaching"

May 20th, 2011
Rainier Chapter WMTA
(Program TBA)

 
If you've found this newsletter fun and helpful, please forward it to your friends, teachers and colleagues. I'd love to hear your comments and any ideas or suggestions you might have about content; we can always learn from each other. I promise more tips, tricks and stories in the coming months.

And don't forget to check out my cool new website.
 
Sincerely,
 

Bonnie Blanchard
bonnieblanchard.com

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