who is the teacher?

I’ve been teaching for a really long time. First taught private lessons during my 8th grade year…and…I’m still trying to figure out how to be most effective. It’s a daily work in progress. It’s a practice. Like yoga.

And, weirdly, I feel like teaching has done more for me as a performer and as a member of the human family than it has for my students. Every time I have to think through how to best teach a topic/technique/rhythm I’m forced to reanalyze my own understanding and then apply that to my own practice and performance. Each time a student comes to me with issues well beyond the scope of a percussion lesson (loss of a job, loss of a family member, seismic shift in their world view or of the very world around them: deep heavy thoughts or concerns) I’m made aware of my many blessings and also reminded that I am part of a larger family.

I’ve alway hated the oft quoted quip that “those who can - do and those who can’t - teach”. My teachers have all been world class performers and I’m pretty sure that their pedagogy inspired their performing success. If you haven’t taught, try it. Teach someone to do something that you are good at and that you love to do. Anything. Watch how you juggle the excitement of this sharing, with the impatience of waiting for your student to ‘get it’, with the dread of not having the words to best ‘teach’ your skill. You can’t help but grow from this experience. Sharing your hard earned skill/knowledge/wisdom/insight with someone else is an intimate and deep experience, that when done from a place of respect and love, has benefits for you and the student that reach far beyond the topic shared. I’m convinced that I would not be the person I am today if not for all of the students that have passed through my classroom/studio. Who is the teacher? Who is the student?

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why do you practice?