Christina Whitlock, Beyond Measure Podcast

Today, I Confess: Some things are NOT working in this season of life... It's that time again, friends... time for me to share things that are NOT working in this season of my life. (If you're not otherwise aware, I have a quarterly-ish practice of sharing What's Working on the podcast, and What's NOT Working here in Confessions). You can find a full listing of other installments in this series in this week's Episode Notes. So, let's get right to it. Things - big and small - that are not...

Today, I Confess: I Broke My Own Rule. Twice. Six days ago, I opened Facebook to see a post by my friend, Elizabeth Davis-Everhart of the Creative Piano Pedagogy podcast (check out our conversation about neurodiverse students here). Elizabeth was the first teacher in my sphere of influence to express outrage over a 60 Minutes post, teasing an upcoming feature on a "new" approach to teaching piano called The Payam Method. As you likely know, the foundation for that teaser (and subsequent...

Don't miss the announcement at the end of today's confession! Many of you have been waiting for this one... Today, I Confess: Change is in the Air The month of May always gets me feeling sentimental (and a little restless, if I'm being honest). I feel it in the air. Some change is good, some is less-than-great... but ready or not, here it comes. 😊 This week on the podcast, I shared three business mindsets essential to running a studio. I also encouraged you to schedule time SOON for a "staff...

Today, I Confess: Sometimes We Fix Too Much This week on Beyond Measure I offered a reminder that - despite having notable room for improvement - the kids are alright. We must be careful not to define our students by their weaknesses. Johnny is more than The Kid Who Always Plays Too Fast. I know *I* want to be seen as more than my shortcomings, so I try to extend the same courtesy to my students. Their struggles do not define them. Check out episode 255 for more on that. There's another...

Today, I Confess: Sometimes, What's "Easy" Feels Hard. 📢 SALE ALERT: I have a zinger of a confession for you today but be sure to read to the end since I have a BIG discount to share on my newest resource: Building Better Music Readers! Fans of Stephen Sondheim will know he once penned the lyrics, "What's hard is simple. What's natural comes hard." I think about those words often, because they repeatedly prove true in my life. Not in the poetic ways Sondheim envisioned, but in everyday...

Today, I Confess: Not Every Connection Lasts Forever The past week has run off the rails for me. I took my children to Ohio to visit my mother, whose health has been a struggle in recent months. Long story short: an ambulance was called for her shortly after our arrival. This evolved into a much longer stay than intended, convoluted plans to get my girls back home without me, and an emotional roller coaster I'm getting a little too familiar with these days. She was released to go home on...

Today, I Confess: My student called me out last week. Over the years, I've stood on my soapbox countless times reminding you to teach the student in front of you... even if it means deviating from your lesson plan. This is one of my most fundamental Teacher Truths. Even the most predictable students have difficult days that require you to throw your plans out the window. ...but sometimes we can be stubborn to loosen our grip on our agendas. Last week, I had a student working through a piece...

Today, I Confess: It's Not Our Job to Make Students "Happy". One of the (many) things I've been learning in therapy is this: I am not responsible for regulating the emotions of others. Like many of life's hardest lessons, this sounds obvious. Of course I'm not in charge of anyone else's feelings. ...and yet... When it comes to teaching, I know I am not alone in obsessing over whether my students (or their family members) are HAPPY with their piano experience. You may recall, I kicked off this...

Today, I Confess: I Struck a Nerve Last Week (Talking About Margin) Phew, friends! My inbox has been a BUSY place since last Thursday's Confession... Apparently I'm not the only one who struggles with margin. 😅 As always, your replies assured me I'm not alone in this wild journey through Teacher Life. Sometimes I feel guilty keeping all your valuable sentiments to myself, so I thought I would do an informal reply round up from last week. Sound fun? Reading through your responses, the same...