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Well, hello there, my studio teacher friends!  Welcome to the Beyond Measure Podcast… with me, Christina Whitlock. I call myself your Anytime Piano Teacher Friend, and I’m here to welcome you to your weekly dose of music teacher solidarity. Today feels like a good day to celebrate because – woah – I’ve officially released 250 episodes of this show! 250 episodes seems like so much, but also so little. Funny how that works, right?  Anyway – whether you’ve been here from the beginning, or have found me on the journey, I want to give you a big THANKS for being here.  Your time is valuable and I work hard to make this show worthy of your attention. With that said, let’s get on with the show!  You are listening to episode 250 of the Beyond Measure Podcast.

When it was time for me to release my 200^th episode, I decided to copy my friend Merideth over at Artists for Joy podcast and I painstakingly wrote a 1-sentence recap of all 200 of my episodes thus far. I had a lot of fun doing that, but – let’s face it – 200 1-line summaries is a tall order. Regardless, if you are interested in the variety of topics I’ve covered on this show, that 200^th episode is a great place to start. It’s linked in today’s shownotes.

Anyway, I thought that concept might be more easy for all of us to digest if I went ahead and did it again for the last 50 episodes I’ve put into the world. So, that’s the plan for today. Are you ready to buckle up?  These episodes are all linked in today’s shownotes, so feel free to check out ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode250 if you hear anything you want to take a deeper dive into.

Okay, friends:  here’s my 1-sentence recap of the last 50 episodes of Beyond Measure!

Starting with episode 201: We often complain students wanting a quick-fix, but teachers are just as guilty of the same.

202: Good people can develop poor coaching programs.

203: We are so focused on saving time, we’re missing our actual lives.

204: Nicola Cantan and I hashed out how we got to a world where advertising runs the show (and why we refuse to be part of it).

205: Getting OTHER people talking about your teaching is ALWAYS going to be more effective than you talking about your teaching.

206: High-achieving students NEED to hear from us that piano study is BIGGER than accomplishment.

207: We would all be wise to consider whether we are channeling our LOOK AT YOU energy, or our LOOK AT ME energy.

208: Your roster looks different every year. Take a moment to appreciate the students you are working with because they won’t be in lessons forever.

209: Not every piece makes a good recital piece.

210:  Name how you’re going to determine whether or not this semester was a success.

211: Always weigh the value of short-term inconveniences and long-term rewards

212:  There is not always a right or a wrong decision. Many times, there is just a decision.

213:  Questions are not attacks. They are feedback, plain and simple.

214: “Should” is one of the most dangerous words in the Piano Teacher Vocabulary.

215: There are many ways to pull yourself out of a Teacher Funk.

216: Teaching week-to-week, lesson-to-lesson, without thinking big picture, is a mistake.

217: Everyone – EVERYONE – hates making mistakes.

218: When students decide to end their study, it’s up to us to make sure they don’t feel like a failure.

219: Leila Viss reminded us that Curiosity is the antidote to perfection.

220: Jason Sifford helped us understand the composer’s perspective of the print music industry

221: Florence Phillips shared about her program running lessons in a high security prison for men.

222: Janna Williamson and I talked about the importance of Proactive vs. Reactive teaching strategies

223: Elizabeth Davis-Everhart shared terrific insights on working with neurodiverse students

224: Diane Hidy took us on a most-entertaining journey through her many musician lives.

225: It’s worth considering: What could YOU do in 8 weeks?

226: Remember: parents LOVE being asked about their children. Stop pretending to be the authority on every student you teach. Parents know their children.

227: Summer camps and summer music study are less popular than they used to be. Plan accordingly.

228: Beware of the “red herrings” of piano teaching. We all get distracted and chase the wrong problems from time to time.

229:  Our job is EASIEST when students practice. Sometimes our frustrations over students’ lack of practice time has less to do with their progress, and more to do with our inability to do anything but teach the next page.  (ouch, I know)

230: It’s great to encourage students, but what they want even more is to be KNOWN and UNDERSTOOD.

231: Sometimes we continually sign up to learn more things because we are secretly avoiding the uncomfortable work of DOING new things.

232: A creative twist on the 30 piece challenge was a catalyst of wonderful things in my studio this year.

233: There’s a difference between KNOWING we need to do something differently and actually DOING the thing differently. Our students need to understand this truth.

234: We may be the only person our students spend consistent, uninterrupted time with each week.

235:  Teachers must stay connected to our love for music or we risk losing all effectiveness toward our students.

236: Repertoire challenges are a fantastic way to increase variety in your students’ musical diet.

237: Are we, as musicians, DESTINED to be skilled – yet miserable – because of our pursuit of perfection?

238: Sometimes we need to be slower in coming to a students’ rescue.

239: Amy Chaplin and I explored the fact that, to everything, there is a season!

240: Social media platforms have changed, and some of us – myself included – are clinging to the past like grumpy church ladies who just want things to be like they were in the 90’s.

241: Sometimes STUFF matters. It’s not always clutter.

242: As musicians, the opportunities we have to contribute to sacred rituals and deeply personal moments should not be taken for granted.

243: I released my waitlist and it felt great.

244: There are MANY common oversights when we teach students to read notation. I’m on a mission to change that.

245: 100 years from now, will teachers say we were on the right side of music?

246: Cynicism in music teaching is often rooted in a desire to impress everyone. Stop trying to prove yourself and just teach great lessons.

247: Investing in your work involves more than your finances.

248: Why are we, as piano teachers, so against teaching EXCERPTS of pieces?

249: There are SO MANY things you can do with busy teens and high school seniors.

…and THAT brings us to 250, my friends! Phew!  If that doesn’t deserve a toast, I’m not sure what does.  Grab that nearest glass and raise it with me now!

Studio music teacher friends from all over the world: we’ve done this thing together for 250 episodes now. I know it’s my voice behind the mic, but I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t confident there were thousands of you out there, experiencing the same struggles and triumphs I see every teaching day. It’s been my pleasure to serve as your Anytime Piano Teacher Friend the last 5 years, and I’m hoping to still be around for many more. Cheers to us for continuing to elevate the profession we hold so dear. Hear, hear!

Again, all referenced episodes can be found in today’s shownotes. It’s quite a list! I hope you’ll check them out at ChristinaWhitlock.com/episode250. While you’re there, be sure you’re signed up to receive my weekly Piano Teacher Confessions e-letter, and consider joining the SuperFriends community – if only for a short season – to help keep the lights on over here at Beyond Measure.

Thanks, as always, friends, for joining me on this journey. Onward and upward we go!