I began teaching a 2nd grade girl late last fall. She's made very slow progress but has made it halfway through Faber's primer. Finger numbers and note names have been a challenge to her, and I've been spending most of the time in lessons drilling a few measures from her assignment. Those songs are pretty straight forward, yet it often takes her 3 weeks to be able to get it to an acceptable level. I've attributed her slow progress to lack of home practice.
However, earlier this week I gave her an hour lesson (because her older brother couldn't come), and while we worked on new music more a longer stretch of time, it became clear to me that her problem goes way beyond not practicing. Simple concepts about note directions, order of notes, and note values were taking her the longest time to process. She would look at B below middle C and try to figure out what it was. I'd say "see, it's stepping down. What note is one lower than c?" and she'd start hitting her head, saying "i know this i know this i know this i know this...." and then stare off into space in silence, forgetting the question. I mean, this is simply basic logic, and if this is such a struggle, i can't imagine what her school work is like. I asked the mom how her math skills were, and apparently they're quite poor. She also has a reading specialist working with her. So this seems to be an all-around problem that's slowing her down in her mental processing.
It was a very enlightening lesson for me. I realized most likely it's not the lack of practice. According to her mom, she practices with her regularly. I wish I would have known about this earlier into lessons, but I feel rather rediculous asking the parents during the interview "does you child have any known learning disability?"
Now, what's the next step? I'm realizing now that piano lessons will possibly never become "her thing" that she excells at, or be a proficient music reader. I feel like my job title has now changed from "piano teacher" to "therapist" or something along that nature, in order to keep developing her cognitive abilities. I struggle with this because I don't know how to work with these kind of children. My patience runs dry when I don't see improvement. I don't want to simply pass her off to another teacher. I want to learn from her and with her because I'm sure she won't be my last student at this level. I want to be able to teach every kind of child, because music ought to enrich each person's life to a different degree.
My immediate plans of action during her future lessons are to:
1) do less drilling
2) explore bigger elements of music like dynamics, tempo, steady beat, improv, rather than perfecting notes on the page.
3) quit attempting to introduce a new piece at each lesson; rather, review, review, review!
Any more suggestions or encouragement from your experiences would be most welcome!!

Well, you will have to make a choice. You already said she won't excel at piano, but then later you say you don't want to pass her onto another teacher. Do you only want students who are stellar? Your answer to that question will greatly determine what to do next.

I recommend that if you decide to teach her, that you drastically change your approach to more experiential in nature. Improv will be great, but also when you're teaching her a song, give her as many different ways of learning it as possible besides just reading the notes. Make it tactile by having her first dance or move to it as you play, then tapping RH/LH on a drum as you point to the rhythms on the page. Sing the song (Faber and many other good method books have words to the songs) so that she knows what it should sound like. Work with her ear training on talking about if a note goes higher, lower, or stays the same based on how it sounds and feels when she sings it.

She may not have a learning disability, but she may just be lacking in some areas. If you take this challenge, then be as encouraging as you can, and make it fun for her while taking baby steps and lots of repetition of ideas from different angles. The most important thing for her, I'm sure, would be to never leave a lesson without actually making music.

Everyone has students like that.

I like to view students like this as an adventure...a challenge...a chance for me to set myself apart from my competition.

Anyone can teach a gifted student. A gifted student will hear something explained once, and get it immediately. Students like these need more effort. If you are willing to put it in (trial and error), I guarantee that your job will be even more rewarding when this student one day "gets it".

DO NOT GIVE UP.

-P-

The student is in grade 2, has difficulty in reading and math, and has difficulty in sequencing F toward G. These could all be related. For example, if she is not fluid in the alphabet, the F G is not straightforward. You will naturally use the F G sequence, drawing on what is usually a strength in a child.

If she is a "summer birthday", then she is almost a year younger than a January birthday. These kids are developmentally behind because of age, and can develop a self-concept of failure. Many trained teachers who know this will often delay their own children's entry into school if they fall in that group. When I had a grade 2 student with wobbly handwriting, lower attention span, I pulled out their chart and the birthday was often there.

** Sequencing ** is often a difficulty with learning disability. Some of these "disabilities" are actually just alternate thinking: global rather than linear-detailed. A child with difficulty sequencing will have trouble with:
- counting, buttoning buttons, remembering ordered procedure, reciting the alphabet, spelling.

They may have problems sequencing orally but not visuaully. They may be tactile learners. You have a choice of which senses to address when teaching: it does not have to be vision, or saying things out loud in words. You have touch, sound, the map of the keyboard (F is not only beside G. It is also the note in the valley of two white notes, hugging the three bumpy black notes.

Can you find her strenghts, learning styles, patterns of what is working with her and what is not working with her?

If she is having trouble at school she may have already formed the self-concept of failure, and that everything is impossibly hard.

This is exactly what I went through as a child! I didn't have any learning disability, but I was a more tactile learner as a child, and since all my learning in school was of the visual and aural variety, I did not do well at all. I also had hearing trouble, so that didn't help things. I couldn't pay attention to the teacher lecturing us, and so my reading and arithmetic were very poor. I also have a birthday in August, and so there was a point at which my parents thought I'd stay behind and redo kindergarten. I was able to get by, and by the time I reached high school, I had learned how to learn in other ways. I had to adapt, however, no one taught me in the way I needed to learn. This was a very hard road, and my poor piano teacher put up with my poor music reading abilities and my predisposed doom of failure. I'm so glad she did.

Agreed!

You had a selfless teacher. Many teachers only want to take on students that make them look good to other teachers.

I used to have a tinge toward that end, but I now have a firmly established reputation...and enjoy taking on difficult students from exasperated teachers . It's like the next level in teaching. It's research and development. Some of the strategies that I've developed with problem students have really helped me with gifted students!

DoReMi, without knowing the situation because I'm not there, I would rather risk to say that if the girl had a real learning disability you would see rather more clues about this in her general demeanor, way of expressing herself etc.

From what you have written my first impression is that the girl does not have her numbers and letters of the alphabet all right. Whilst this can seem incredible to the less young among us, I do not think it is unconceivable in a seven years old.

I know (from another country) of children not able to make simple calculations and write their own name (their own name) halfway (halfway) properly at age 8, with the teacher not concerned in the least because "it will all come naturally with the time".

Morodiene, the school where I taught had such a student population that the revolving psychologist (half a day per school) ended up stationed permanently. Among other things, she assessed the teaching of all teachers in all classrooms during her stay, from her area of expertise. After observing my lesson she commented on the way I distributed my teaching between aural and visual cues.

One of my students was an only child in a quiet environment who could not spell: even "run fun shun dun.." which helped him a little bit. He was assessed. He could not sequence, and he could not function with background noise. The therapist's solution? An old clunky manual typewriter which he was allowed to drag into the hallway to practice his spelling. And for his parents to provide a noisier home. It was done!

The manual typewriter gave him lots of tactile feedback. He had to aim his fingers carefully and really give those letters a push, and that created focus between body and mind. He could only type one letter at a time, so he was forced to slow down and sequence. The kid learned to spell! A distinction should be made between learning disability and mental retardation. Learning disability happens when one of the senses doesn't work the way it works with most people, or processing in one particular area is off. Or the person is a global rather than linear thinker. Learning disabled people are often exceptionally bright, and very adept in other areas. This makes it very frustrating, because he will know that he should be able to do what the others are doing, he is keenly aware of it, but he can't.

A 12 year old student from the LD area visited my classroom during the "family week" the school had concocted, where mixed age groups came together. Our unit (imposed by the school) was "I am proud of who I am." The kids were to have a partner trace their silhouette on black paper using chalk, cut out the silhouette, and glue it on white paper. Nobody warned me of this boy's disability, namely eye-hand coordination and following shapes. His LD teacher told me that he was brilliant, well-read, well-spoken, but could barely write the letters of the alphabet. There is no way that this young man could follow the shape of his silhouette with a pair of scissors. He could barely write his name because of the visual-concept problem.

The young man acted like a fool, did silly jokes while the five year olds snipped happily away - something that he was incapable of - he was obnoxious. (And anxious?)

The group went out to stand in front of the door of the next classroom. The classroom doors had these thick glass windows at the top. While waiting, after my lesson, he put his fist clean through that window. He required stitches. He apologized all the way to the hospital. It is something I will never forget, because it came after my "I am proud of who I am" lesson.

That is a MYTH. I was one of those "gifted students" in almost all of my classes, even the accelerated, honors, or AP science courses. More often than not, I find myself knowing more than the teacher or being able to solve problems faster than the teacher. Most of my teachers in school just drown us in busy work, thinking that will just make us learn more. By keeping us busy, we didn't have time to challenge or question the teachers, which may expose their lack of expertise in the area they teach.

I currently teach in a low-performing school. There are always 2 or 3 students in each class who actually want to learn music. I teach to those students. I'm not going out of my way to differentiate my lessons (i.e., dumb it down) so that apathetic students, or students forced into my class by the inept administration, can learn.

Every student deserves the _right_ teacher. For my private piano studio, I want students who care about piano, want to learn quickly, and play really well. Those who don't can find a less demanding teacher. As one of my colleague said, "There's a piano teacher for everyone."

AZN

OK...you caught me on the semantic end...

I change my wording from "gifted student" to "Model learner"

Having taught learning-challenged students (a least 5 of them of varying ages, 3 piano, 2 clarinet, the two clarinet students are still working with me, a lot of them just need slower pacing or an easier book. For example, you might want to consider using the My First Piano Adventure, which is designed for the 4-6 year old students, but I've found even learning-challenged 8 year olds enjoy. I've used the music game from My First Piano Adventure Book A music game at the end.

I find learning challenged students often find even simple written exercises hard. I've used strategies such as playing with the student, having them identify steps and skips by ear and flashcards (I love the Faber flashcards with the sight-reading exercises), a magnetic/writing board, percussion instruments, I would have had her use computer games to help her but the family didn't even own a computer (I taught her for two years), before they had to stop lessons due to financial difficulties).

Some of these students actually manage to get to the point where they do quite well on exams. (usually marks in the First Class Honours range) With such students you learn that if it works for them, it will most definitely work with the vast majority of students. With them once they 'get it' they rarely forget, so this means they might be absorbing the knowledge on a much deeper level as well as providing some joy in their life.

Meri

Another thing that every child enjoys, but can also be helpful with learning-challenged students are games like Whirligig.
http://www.whirligigllp.com/

I've used these and kids really enjoy them, plus it's a great way to help them look at theory in a different way (not work).

DoReMi, go for it. Try new things with her. Be experimental. Listen to her. What works? What interests her? What gives her enjoyment?

She will learn. It will happen when you least expect it. But the journey--for you--will be a wonderful one of discovery. You will bless her, and she will bless you.

And when your patience is tried, remember that music is not about the notes but the spirit behind the notes.

I actually teared up reading these posts . . . I was thinking of a little girl I once had (all the same problems, I think!) At the year end recital, she threw her arms around me and gave me a huge hug and told me she loved piano. (I thought, what?! really?!) I realized half of what we do is just love on them and believe in them.

The inner world of a student sometimes does not present a great profile of a candidate for piano lessons - evident in young children who are still developing charactistics of maturity, self esteem, emotion luggage or difficult life circumstances.

They may not be producing a lot, in fact, it may even be a struggle on their part, but they are very much in need of having a musical outlet as the student who comes active and ambitious.

The piano is an exacting instrument!

The amazing thing is that all the things one would need to be a musician - patience, self discipline, determination and learning to think and control one's thoughts and motions within a component of time, is something that can be taught.

Acquired skills are every bit as important as having any natural talent.

The other day I said to an 8 year old transfer student that I've had for almost a year, "You are becoming a fine musician!" "I am?" she said.

The ones who give me hugs are "thanking me" and appreciating the one-on-one experience in music where they are finding out they can do it, and that it feels good. It's a precious thing to share with a child.


Betty

In the case of this particular student, if she is having difficulty with sequencing (buttoning, things in order) or if she is too young for her grade at school, then she has difficulties in learning things in a certain area without there being a cause or solution. This is frustrating, and it can lead to the child thinking she is stupid, incapable.

If you can identify the task (find the F, recognize the F) while leaving out sequencing if that is the problem (F is below G = sequencing), and if she can succeed at that task, then her self-esteem and feeling of success will be enhanced. She will have a clear goal at which she can succeed. That is very motivating. Clear goal might be "find the F, which is the note hanging beside those two mountainous black keys.

One simple goal that she can achieve, to which you add another simple goal that she can achieve, always with her knowing she has achieved it.

The interplay between learning and emotions is a tricky one. Poor self esteem or emotional problems can cause poor learning. But difficulty in learning can cause bad feelings = emotional problems. Sometimes if success in the learning task can be achieved, the attentiveness and good feelings are caused by that success. It's a judgement call to know which to address.

The very young child learning to walk, talk, crawl, is a role model for all of us. If only we can preserve that tenacity, motivation, and willpower, while guiding it. Too often in our school system we interfere and undermine. How wonderful then that private teachers exist who can address each child's individuality.

A wonderful story - Yet she didn't know.

The important thing in working with a child like that, I think, is to give her something that she can succeed at. I tutor math, not piano, but I've had learning-disabled kids (or at least, slow learners). Usually, by the time the kid got to me, he/she was already convinced that math was impossible, that he/she was stupid, and that there was nothing to be done. When working with such a child, my strategy was to give the kid a really easy task to do, and praise him/her to the skies for performing it correctly. Then, I would gradually increase the difficulty of the task, and keep praising the kid. It really helped with motivation, and the kids did amazingly well in a reasonably short period of time.

So I agree with keystring - have the kid find the F on the keyboard, and praise her (sincerely) for finding it. Have her clap a rhythm, or sing a tune along with your playing, and praise her for getting that right. The important part is that the praise should be sincere (kids are very good at seeing insincerity,) and that the tasks should gradually increase in difficulty (but not beyond the child's comfort level.)

I have worked with several students that had some sort of reading disabilities and never gave up on them. I actually enjoyed finding ways to come up with the piano lesson being the highlight of their week.

So many have negative enhanced learning (schools, home etc), and I wanted to make sure that music was a positive experience for them. Piano lessons became music lessons in many of the instances.

Certainly not a drill for several weeks on one piece. How could that possibly be exciting?

SONGS BY ROTE.
KEYBOARD EXPLORATION
RHYTHM ENHANCEMNT (mentioned above - dance, copying on the piano etc)
COMPOSITION - black keys - pentatonic scale
SIMPLE DUETS - you can actually get parents/sibs involved in this
SINGING
LISTENING

etc.

There are sooo many ways to make music a positive experience rather than hitting one's head in frustration saying, I should know this, I know this, etc.

Let her bring out the best in you as a teacher, and I wish you the best of experiences as you both enjoy your lessons.

I would like to make an important distinction. Learning disabled people are often extra bright, and thus the opposite of a slow learner. That makes it extra frustrating because of their high intelligence, not to mention awareness of the disability. They "know" it should be easy, see that it is easy for everyone else, even those who obviously are less intelligent. This is enormously frustrating.

The school system that insists on teaching mostly visually and in linear sequence, or indirectly rather than directly, when such an approach (any of them, depending on the disability), when that approach may make demands precisely in the area of the disability, can create a self-concept in inability that is reaches much further than the initial difficulty.

If there is a learning disability, it is important to know its nature so that teaching can become effective, and the student can experience success.

If the child, for example, cannot sequence and has difficult in perceiving space visually (but he CAN perceive it tactilely), then getting him to look at drawings of fingers going 12345, or visually contemplating the keyboard, or memorizing CDEFGAB, all of it visual and/or sequential, will make it hard for him to learn.

If that same child can find D as being between the two black keys, rather than part of the CDE sequence, and feel the keys with his fingers (the black bumps), as well as perhaps using his ears more than his eyes, meshing hearing with hands, he may experience success relatively quickly.

If he is a slow learner all around, it is a different story.