Teaching Philosophy-Core Education
“Piano Ability is Life Ability”
Dr. Suzuki said:
“I want – if I can – to get education changed from mere instruction to education in the real sense of the word – education that inculcates, brings out, develops the human potential, based on the growing life of the child. That is why I am devoting my efforts to furthering Talent Education: what a child becomes depends entirely on how he is educated. My prayer is that all children on this globe may become fine human beings, happy people of superior ability, and I am devoting all my energies to making this come about, for I am convinced that all children are born with this potential.”
Playing piano involves many different abilities -mental skills, physical coordination, the integration of emotional feelings as well as discipline and determination. Therefore, playing piano is the perfect study for developing the whole child.
Core Education is learning how to learn. Core Education promotes the growth of the framework or “intelligence” (hence the word “core”) upon which all learning occurs. It is the development of ability by creating a purposeful environment that children absorb in the same way they learn language. It is based on Dr. Suzuki and Dr. Kataoka’s principles of Talent Education and learning through the senses.
Life ability forms the macrocosm of how we live, interact, create, adapt, and grow. Examples of life abilities developed in piano study are body posture and small motor physical coordination, mental focus, memorization ability, an internal sense of motivation, as well as feelings including confidence and happiness. Core Education develops this “Life Ability”.
Below are seven core education principles which I apply in teaching piano, and are relevant to overall child development:
The Seven Principles:
1. Life Ability
Core Education develops life ability- the ability to live life optimally.
2. Natural Learning
Core Education utilizes and preserves natural learning, which is direct learning from the environment.
3. Whole Learning
Children learn through absorption of the total environment rather than part by part. This is sometimes called ”right-brain learning” Whole learning is a better way to describe this absorption as it involves both the right brain (learning through the senses/intuition and left brain (analytical) types of learning working together.
4. Integral Learning
Core learning involves recognition and support for the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of development in combination with mental/cognitive learning to form life abilities.
5. Ability Development: Pattern recognition and the forming of relationships between these patterns can be developed through repetition for optimum learning. This includes physical ability, mental/memory, emotional balance and spiritual development as well. This is the balancing concept of whole learning and involves understanding of learning in relationship to sequencing and the development of ability through the acquisition of foundation skills.
6. The core focus principle of nurturing: This principle is that the most fundamental aspect in a child’s learning must always be addressed rather than focusing on the content of what is being learned. It is finding the core aspect of the process that will produce the easiest and quickest way to learn. It is closely connected to Ability Development.
7. Positive affirmation
Core education involves affirmation as a critical component of feedback for the child. Using verbal acknowledgement of that which is correct will accelerate learning. It is not a judgment such as good or bad, but is a positive statement of fact to the child about how they are learning.
Through understanding and applying these principles teachers and parents can recreate the concept of education from the learning of content to the development of Life Ability.
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