When Your Child Arrives At a Brick Wall

The child starts lessons, and has stars in their eyes. They run home and practice every day. This new skill is fun! I can do it!

And then for some, the climb up the Mountain of Learning gets steeper, the concepts get more difficult, and the practicing doesn’t come so easily.

For others, they find the beginning material is quite easy, and they discover they can “coast” a bit, and not put in much time or effort. Then when the material gets more challenging, they are in a lazy rut and don’t know how to apply themselves to learn the new level.

When students stop wanting to practice and work, I call this the Brick Wall. There is always a way around or over it, but not all students will look for the way. Signs that your child are at the Brick Wall include:

- resisting practicing

- having dread on lesson day

- saying they want to quit

This is your moment, parents. As teachers, we can usually tell when the child is at their Brick Wall, but if they are a good actor and put on a happy face in lessons, we don’t always notice.

If your child refuses to practice at home, please tell your teacher.

If your child has lost their interest in learning the instrument, please tell your teacher.

If they want to quit entirely, please tell your teacher.

We can’t help what we don’t know, but knowing what the issue is can help us redirect our focus in the lessons.

If the student doesn’t like the pieces in the book, we change books.

If the student is tired of classical and wants to try jazz, we can try jazz.

If the student doesn’t want to practice their pieces, we find pieces that they like.

If the student needs more variety in lessons, we can bring more games and activities.

If the student wants to quit, we can ask them what they would like to do in lessons to keep going.

If the student needs less structure in lessons, we can be more flexible and spontaneous.

But sometimes, that information can only come from you, the parent. Please help us help your child get around their Brick Wall. And once they find their way around it, students generally enjoy playing and learning again. Please don’t let them quit the first time they ask! Involve the teacher in what is going on so they can be part of the solution. As a teacher, it is easy to “get in a rut,” and changing things up are good for us too.

“Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will find a joy in overcoming obstacles. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost.”

Helen Keller

Image by Tyke Jones from Pixabay