I taught piano for 6 years. I still wonder if I was qualified enough to do it. I could play the piano, but teaching is a totally different story. I did it anyway, whether I was ready or not!
I started when I was 16. My sister taught, and she was quitting. Someone suggested that I start taking over teaching for her. I said I would, and somehow, two sets of parents were willing to give a 16-year-old a shot. It was my first job, and it was both scary and exciting at the same time.
My sister had four students, and that first year I added two more. I think of how young those kids and I all were. They were really great kids, and I remember them all fondly. I don't know if they still remember me, but they all impacted my life. I was just getting used to it when the beginning of the next year, my grandma asked if I would take over all her piano students while she and my grandpa served a mission.
My grandma had taught piano for an extremely long time. She was an amazing teacher. She would do workshops to teach other teachers, and now she was asking me to fill in for her? It was big shoes to fill.
To prepare me to take over, she took me to a piano workshop in California. I was 17 at the time, and we would be gone for 10 days. I was truly scared to go. It was all intimidating to be there. I know I was the youngest teacher of all, and the person teaching was Dr. Kataoka from Japan. She had created the Suzuki method for piano, and my grandma took me to watch her teach.
I learned a lot and got really homesick. My grandma was at the beginning stages of dementia. It was a lot for a 17-year-old to keep track of everything, but I did. I love this trip with my grandma. I'm grateful I got to spend time with her.
We came home, and I started teaching all of her students, and she left to serve in the Washington D.C. temple. I remember that as a very busy time. I taught every afternoon. I enjoyed most of my students, and some kept me on my toes. I had students who just didn't want to be there, and some who enjoyed it. I kept adding new students on top of my old ones and the ones from my grandma.
As my grandma came home, some students wanted to stay with me. There were some I really enjoyed, so I agreed to it. Overall, though, I cut back on the number of students whom I taught. I was starting school at Idaho State University, and I wouldn't have time to keep up with all of it. Teaching was my job until Matt and I moved out of town. I fully quit teaching once we moved, and I have never gone back. I missed the students I had been teaching. I didn't miss teaching. I enjoy playing the piano, but teaching wasn't my passion. I was very grateful for all the years of that job. I loved all the kids that I taught. They were a light in my life. I enjoyed them very much. I learned a lot in that job. It helped me grow as a person.
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