A Well-Earned Sticker

Last evening one of my students confessed that he was having a rough day and felt "out of it." I considered what to do in this situation for a moment. Some teachers may just accept that the lesson will be mediocre and try to shuffle through the 26 remaining minutes. I suggest a different strategy.

Instead of pitying the student his unhappy circumstances, I asked him to step it up. This lesson must be even better, more focused, more productive than a regular lesson. I told him to take a moment to set aside whatever it was that he had done prior to stepping into my studio, as well as whatever he will do once he leaves.

It was time to live in the moment. Focus solely on the task at hand. And I bet you can guess what happened then. He played his Minuet in G seamlessly by memory. It was one of the most gratifying stickers I've ever awarded.