Dr PAUL JESSEN
Teaching Philosophy
Ninive Clements Calegari wrote:
Great teachers should be paid like doctors or corporate attorneys. I worry about what will happen to our economy and our democracy if we don't start to take teachers' jobs seriously. Click here to see her book.
MY THOUGHTS:
Teaching is an important and valuable profession. It must be undertaken with passion, compassion, intuition, wit and humour, with a genuine care for the student's understanding and well-being. I hear of too much teaching that is perfunctory and merely consists of the so-called teacher assigning pieces to learn and then listening to them played a week later, with no assistance or guidance given. By contrast I work with my students to discover the ways that they can master the difficulties presented by each piece, and thus learn the lessons that the pieces have to offer.
The formation of the young in a positive way is of utmost importance. The City of Toronto ran a programme entitled: Your Kids Are Listening. They underlined the importance of teaching by example as well as using positive language to increase your child's self-esteem. This is how I teach. It is taking me many years to outgrow the negative attitudes of parents and teachers in my past; I do not want that to be the case for my students. If you find that you over-react to some things that your children do or say, you may be suffering from trauma related problems. You can read about those symptoms and how they may be released on my web page on Trauma Healing.
The teacher should impart a greater understanding of the purpose of learning music to the student's larger life, as well as a greater appreciation of music as a whole. As a teacher I am always looking for ways to explain new concepts better to each individual in ways they can understand, according to their personality and interests. My studies in psychology have given me great insight into the workings of the mind and psyche enabling me to match efficiently my teaching style to the student's needs. Much teaching involves the traumatising of students, which destroys their ability to enjoy playing or to perform in a relaxed and effective manner. My studies in Trauma Healing have shown me how I can assist a student in releasing these pent-up energies (trapped in the nervous system) that block their successful public performance. My favourite piece for this is:
Why not come and meet me? Take one or two lessons to experience the difference of an EMPATHETIC TEACHER who understands and cares for his students and their overall welfare!
Music is one activity that combines all our modalities of learning: sight, hearing, touch, and thinking. It increases a student's self-discipline while increasing the brain's complexity and hence ability to learn other skills such as mathematics and language. It is now known that learning music at an early age even reduces the likelihood of Alzheimers in later years.
My own years of study of piano, viola, and organ from twenty different teachers have shown me what works and what does not work! I can even trace my teacher - student lineage back to Johann Sebastian Bach, Anton Rubinstein, and Ludwig van Beethoven. These many years of study and multiplicity of teachers have encompassed both modern and historic performance techniques. Add to that my extensive experience as a recitalist on organ and piano and thirty years of teaching amateur choirs and you have a well-versed empathetic teacher with exceptional communication skills.
In my curriculum I aim for a well-rounded education including an understanding of each style of music and period, technique, reading skills, harmony and chord formation, playing from a lead-line, accompaniment patterns, improvisation, and aural skills. By a special method of finger yoga I strengthen the fingers and make them more supple. I choose pieces and books that strengthen my teaching methods and keep the student's interest alive.