The Three Teachers
Cathy Allen, Deborah Schmidt, and Amber Ghent hired Mary Kogen for a 2 hour pedagogy session When not traveling around the country giving presentations and doing TaKeTiNa, Mary offers private lessons in piano pedagogy. Last June Mary invited me to join her in her private studio for a two hour pedagogy session she was giving to three music teachers. Two were from the Bay area, and one from Canada; all, I believe, taught different instruments: cello, flute, and piano.
I couldn't help but notice that Mary was wearing one square earring and one circular, which I thought was an appropriate foreshadowing of her outside-the-box teaching methods. I sat at her bar-style counter surrounded by frog decor and marveled at how she was able to coordinate teaching, listening, and giving out materials with making us all dinner (bonus!) - a truly amazing show of multi-tasking.
The three women, Deborah, Cathy, and Amber, were high off of the body-mapping conference they were attending that weekend (where Mary both presented and led TaKeTiNa), and were absolute sponges for Mary's expertise.
I couldn't help but notice that Mary was wearing one square earring and one circular, which I thought was an appropriate foreshadowing of her outside-the-box teaching methods. I sat at her bar-style counter surrounded by frog decor and marveled at how she was able to coordinate teaching, listening, and giving out materials with making us all dinner (bonus!) - a truly amazing show of multi-tasking.
The three women, Deborah, Cathy, and Amber, were high off of the body-mapping conference they were attending that weekend (where Mary both presented and led TaKeTiNa), and were absolute sponges for Mary's expertise.
Teaching Methodology
The meat I suppose of the session was the outline of various teaching methods the teachers could use from the very first class through the ongoing weeks. Furiously writing notes, they sighed with relief when Mary gave them handouts to save them the trouble, “Mary this is amazing, it really helps.”
The topics Mary covered included:
The topics Mary covered included:
- Concepts of Music
- Helping the Student Who Has Difficulty Accessing Rhythm
- Conceptual Teaching
- Compound Note Values
- Ear Training
- Rhythm and Reading
But the true value of her expertise lay in the way she illustrated these concepts and peppered them with stories. She modeled some of the activities she uses with kids; always building concepts onto each other. She made everyone (including me) participate whenever possible in clapping rhythms or singing along, allowing them to be a part of the experience of learning.
It was fun to watch all three music teachers absorbing new ideas and getting very excited. When Mary demonstrated teaching solfège with hand signals, Amber had a light bulb moment:
“This is amazing because you're putting it all together. I teach group classes and I have to try to cover all this material and teach them ensemble music, and I haven't figured out how to do that. I can do this. Thank you Mary!"
It was fun to watch all three music teachers absorbing new ideas and getting very excited. When Mary demonstrated teaching solfège with hand signals, Amber had a light bulb moment:
“This is amazing because you're putting it all together. I teach group classes and I have to try to cover all this material and teach them ensemble music, and I haven't figured out how to do that. I can do this. Thank you Mary!"
Teaching With Kids, Not At Them
The teachers often asked Mary - what age do you start teaching this, how old before they can learn that? Mary always answered with the constant reminder to be flexible with each individual. “It depends on the student,” she said. “Everyone's different, and that's why I get so irritated with method books.”
Though she does use method books, and her extensive knowledge of them was evident. She kept going up to her shelves pulling out out-of-print copies that she offers for sale, though not without an honest critique: “Oh, I can sell you the book, but the book is stupid. Well, it's so dated - you can just write the names of the songs down.” Though I think if you don't have the decades and decades of experience she has, the books might not seem so easy to live without – all the teachers were interested in getting a copy.
But besides going through methodology, Mary emphasized teaching with kids, not at them. Her experience of teaching kids, being with them, and letting them teach her allows her to pass on the range of kids' responses; what works and what doesn't.
“If you're not sure how to do something, ask the kids - they're powerful," she said. "One of my favorite questions is, 'How would you do it?' They say, 'This doesn't make sense to me,' and I say 'Oh, hmm. Well, how would you do it?' and then they tell me. And if they go 'I don't know,' well, in my studio 'I don't know' is not allowed. If you don't know, you make it up.”
Just from the stories, you can tell Mary respects kids. She involves them in their own learning; values their frustrations even if they still have to do whatever is frustrating. Probably my favorite of the stories to come out of the whole meeting:
“One student came in - very fine violinist now - and her mother said to her, 'Tell Mary what you feel' and so she said (holding up a piano book) 'I don't like this book. It's too hard and there's too much to do.' And I said, 'You know, I get that. Let's just stomp on it.' So we threw it down and stomped on it. And when we were done stomping and ranting and raving on the book, I picked it up and I put it on the piano and said, 'Okay, let's do number six.' And she did!” We were dying with laughter, so she gave us the moral while we were recovering, “So go with the student, and then go with your rule.”
Though she does use method books, and her extensive knowledge of them was evident. She kept going up to her shelves pulling out out-of-print copies that she offers for sale, though not without an honest critique: “Oh, I can sell you the book, but the book is stupid. Well, it's so dated - you can just write the names of the songs down.” Though I think if you don't have the decades and decades of experience she has, the books might not seem so easy to live without – all the teachers were interested in getting a copy.
But besides going through methodology, Mary emphasized teaching with kids, not at them. Her experience of teaching kids, being with them, and letting them teach her allows her to pass on the range of kids' responses; what works and what doesn't.
“If you're not sure how to do something, ask the kids - they're powerful," she said. "One of my favorite questions is, 'How would you do it?' They say, 'This doesn't make sense to me,' and I say 'Oh, hmm. Well, how would you do it?' and then they tell me. And if they go 'I don't know,' well, in my studio 'I don't know' is not allowed. If you don't know, you make it up.”
Just from the stories, you can tell Mary respects kids. She involves them in their own learning; values their frustrations even if they still have to do whatever is frustrating. Probably my favorite of the stories to come out of the whole meeting:
“One student came in - very fine violinist now - and her mother said to her, 'Tell Mary what you feel' and so she said (holding up a piano book) 'I don't like this book. It's too hard and there's too much to do.' And I said, 'You know, I get that. Let's just stomp on it.' So we threw it down and stomped on it. And when we were done stomping and ranting and raving on the book, I picked it up and I put it on the piano and said, 'Okay, let's do number six.' And she did!” We were dying with laughter, so she gave us the moral while we were recovering, “So go with the student, and then go with your rule.”
Closing Thoughts
When Mary went off to get dessert (how many consults do you know that come with homemade dessert?), I asked the three women what their biggest takeaway from the day was.
Amber spoke of Mary's playful spirit and said, “She has a way of making everybody feel comfortable.” Deborah loved Mary's positivity, “She says she's lucky but I think she's the kind of person who makes her own luck. She's kind of unstoppable.” And Cathy immediately answered:
Amber spoke of Mary's playful spirit and said, “She has a way of making everybody feel comfortable.” Deborah loved Mary's positivity, “She says she's lucky but I think she's the kind of person who makes her own luck. She's kind of unstoppable.” And Cathy immediately answered:
“Every time I'm around Mary, what I take away primarily is just the level of creativity that's available; the level of fun and creativity you can have with anything. Anything.”
photos by Chelsea Schuyler
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