That was a statement Terry Durbin made in a talk today at Suzuki Institute.  I like it!  After all, how many times have I written about my so-called patience, when I am clearly NOT a patient person.  I’m controlling and easily frustrated…aha!

I don’t have too much time because I have a little assignment to practice for class, but I wanted to give a quick update on how things are going here.  (Ottawa, Kansas for Suzuki Institute.)

This is my home until Friday.  (Apologies for the wrinkled bed, it’s tough to make a bed that is in the corner, plus I just don’t care enough).  I have my own room, but I share a suite with two other women taking teaching training who are actually quite fun and delightful!  We’ve been chitchatting quite a bit and eating meals together.  I always have an easy time making friends at these events since we all share a common bond—our love of teaching children to play violin and a constant desire to become BETTER at it.

This morning started early with an awful breakfast (the food is pretty bad…I am trying to take advantage of it and let this be a wonderful weight-loss/detox week.) The camp is a bit (understatement) disorganized this year and we still didn’t know what classes there were to observe.  The course I am taking requires 15 hours of class time and 8 hours of student class observations.  I always like to do MORE than the required observations since I’m here, so I really wanted to take up all my morning with classes.  We finally figured out some options and headed out. 

First I hit up Scott Conklin’s Book 5 Group Class.  I went to school with Scott back in the day and I think he was a bit unnerved by my presence.  Or just cause I was sitting next to my suitemate, Holly, who literally looks like Anne Hathaway (I’ll have to get a picture later…especially after Susan told us she couldn’t concentrate since we looked like models…Holly is like 6 feet tall, oh, and probably about 23 or 24…)

I decided to be a good blogger and snap some photos!

That’s Scott leading the class.  They were playing Bach Double when I got there (late due to the misinformation) and then Country Dance here.  The kids in the front didn’t know it yet so they were keeping an eye out for how the class was using their bows.

Next I went to Terry Durbin’s Class.  I just love Terry Durbin.  Last year he wasn’t teaching at the institute, but I know him from when I was a little girl attending Suzuki Institute.  He is a truly hilarious, crazy, inspiring teacher.  Part of my love of the violin came from classes with him.  Years ago, after institute, I told my sister Leslie I wanted to be a Suzuki violin teacher just like him.

She said, well, you aren’t funny enough.

I suppose she’s correct.

Anyhow.

After that was a class with Beth Titterington, and then the aforementioned lecture by Terry Durbin. 

I feel a little silly whipping out the camera, but seriously, why not?  I’m loving the quality of my new camera photos, and some of these things just need to be documented, right?  Like that hands on the nose/ear picture up there!

I am pretty funny, though, right?  Probably not as funny as I think I am…but still, funny, right?

Let me just give you a few more things I wrote down today.  These are for violin teaching, parenting, and life.

If you teach your children, you can change the world.

Understand the world on the child’s level.  Come UP to their sense of wonder and awe.

Children can only hear what they are ready, emotionally and mentally, to hear.

Support your child by being there and support them by truly being there when you are there.

You should not play the violin for accolades or to impress others.