The Ripple Effect

Before I start this, let me first state that this is not written for a particular family. I really don’t have anyone in mind. It is simply a post from years of experience in this industry.

 I feel like we are living in a time when many parents are wanting to always make sure their child is pushed. Every year, I’m confronted with people asking for their child to bump up a level or to another age bracket. I’ve had people ask for their three year old to play guitar or their six year old to dance with the 8-11 year old age group. Almost always my answer is the same – no, we keep all students in their correct age group and we do not start private music lessons until they are six.

 If I allowed students to bump up, a ripple effect would occur. Let’s play out this scenario. I let a student who just turned 7 into my 8-11 dance class. Next, my 11 year old’s parents will feel the age span is too big and will request to go up to the 12 and up group. Then, my 16 year old student will want to know why she is dancing with an 11 year old! Craziness! The same thing would happen in our art department too.

 In music, we have three reasons for not starting them in private lessons until they are six. They need to be a beginner reader to learn lyrics or read the curriculum. For piano and guitar, we are wanting their fine motor skills to be more developed.  You need a certain amount of finger strength to make the guitar chords. Lastly, they will need to be able to focus for a 30 minute lesson. We certainly do not want to waste anyone’s money when we can’t get their student to listen.

 However, we do have ways to push students that are excelling. Every July, we have our dance competition auditions. These students are broken into groups based on their ability and age. These students train at least twice per week and attend conventions and master classes with amazingly talented teachers and choreographers throughout the nation. In music, we have a class called Rhythm & Notes for our 4 and 5 year olds. Here they learn notes on a staff, rhythm, and how to sing with live accompaniment. It gives them a jump on the game before they can enter their own private lessons. In art, we can schedule private lessons with our instructors. This way students can focus on one area they are wanting to spend more time on.

 To conclude all of this, I believe as parents we need to teach our children some valuable lessons. There will be times in classes that they will be the best. In those times, they should be a leader and model for the younger students how they should behave and work in the class. There will be other times that they are the youngest or less skilled. During those time, they should soak up everything they can from their teachers and more advanced students. Both seasons are teaching them lifelong lessons.

 I hope your time at Soar is rewarding.   If you would ever like to talk about the classes your student is in or how they can be pushed individually, I’m always happy to schedule an appointment!