European Suzuki Association - Teachers Newsletter Vol 38 2018

3 Chairman’s Column Martin Rüttimann Sometimes we need to reflect deeply and reconsider what our personal core values are; how important loyalty is to us and how much we might be tempted to take the route which may give us our fifteen minutes of fame on Facebook. There is room for different ideas within our movement. There is room for totally different pedagogical theories and approaches which might serve to be helpful to some students and their families more than others. The Suzuki Method™ is based on the belief that every child has talent and every child can be taught to play a musical instrument if the conditions are set right. However, this does not mean that the Suzuki Method™ as a way of teaching is suitable for all teachers. Through the years, we have seen enthusiastic teachers come and go. At one point, literally hundreds of teachers were studying with Dr. Suzuki in Japan - some for a longer time than others. To some of those teachers we owe deep gratitude for what they have brought to our lives. However, simply having studied with Dr. Suzuki is not a guarantee that all teachers and teacher trainers would make a lifelong contribution to the development of the Suzuki Method™ in the way he would have wished. The Suzuki movement is not the first and will not be the last idealistic movement which has had to deal with the fundamental question of the best way to interpret its founder’s intention. Although Dr. Suzuki was not very definitive in how he envisaged the teaching of his method to be carried out, he was however quite specific in outlining his core beliefs in what is a good and effective way to teach children generally, based on his thoughts on the mother tongue approach. Dr Suzuki’s humanitarian visions are also documented in detail in his numerous written works. If we find ourselves in a situation where we are challenged by those who promote themselves as knowing ‘the truth’ or having had a calling from Dr. Suzuki himself to carry out his method in a very specific way, it is up to each and every one of us to take a clear stand for the sake of the Suzuki Method™. Sometimes we have to make decisions which might not be comfortable at first, which might not be popular in our immediate circle or which might not be helpful for our personal career and even lose us popularity on social media. I myself know exactly where my roots are. From the start, I made a decision to which movement I wanted to belong. I have never regretted this decision, although throughout the years there have been times when this has been challenged. Let us work together to keep spreading Dr. Suzuki’s philosophy of teaching, striving for excellence as much as we can both in our teaching and in dealing with our colleagues. I t has always been my strong belief that the results achieved by the wider community have a much stronger influence on our students than those of just one individual teacher. Consequently, as teachers and teachers trainers, we should ideally remain modest in our work and see ourselves only as a part of the bigger picture. Unfortunately, sometimes the reality is that our individual egos are a stronger influence than is helpful for the wider group. Do we teach what we preach? It is important to consider what the impact on the European Suzuki community would be if some of us should consider themselves to be superior to others; or if we should believe that we have had a calling from Dr. Suzuki and are focused on fulfilling our mission regardless of the effect this has on others; or if we should promote our own material in competition with the Suzuki core material to be used as the basis for teacher training and student repertoire. What would be the impact on the quality of ESA Teacher Training if we as teacher trainers were to accept on our course a trainee who was failed by a colleague at audition or even pass a trainee who was failed at exam with a colleague’s examiner panel, or did not think of all Level 5 teachers as potential Instructors and consider them to also be our colleagues and future teacher trainers. The impact is, of course, to divide and fragment the community and to dilute the results of our work in teaching and spreading the Suzuki Method™ throughout Europe. After more than 40 years since the introduction of the Suzuki Method™ in Europe, our movement still remains marginal and our influence in the (official) pedagogical world remains small.