Today we performed at International Friendship Day at Pioneer Park.  This is such a great community event, but it also showed the strong and cohesive community that is our own Fairbanks School of Talent Education.

Before I was a Suzuki Cello teacher, I was a Suzuki parent.  I think this makes me look at our parents with even more admiration, I have walked in your shoes!  I know that our families are all very busy, and I am always humbled at the amount of support and help that we as teachers receive from our parents.

For many of our student’s activities, the parent is a chauffeur, secretary, and cheerleader. While these support roles are certainly demanding of time and energy, the role as Suzuki parent is even more challenging. Our parents must figure out how to provide both emotional support and the educational environment to help their children’s musical growth. This includes taking lesson notes to planning for successful practice sessions.  These tasks are time-consuming and yet ultimately, very rewarding. The parent’s role is difficult and deserves support. Our parents are on the front line, day-in and day-out.

The Suzuki Association has a great website with lots of parent support articles.  I wanted specifically share one of the articles with our parents, titled “Thank You, Suzuki Parents, Everything You Do is Much Appreciated.”  We, as teachers, value you and the support that you give us each day.