SHOOTING ONE ARROW AT A TIME

I love Edmund Sprunger’s "shooting one arrow" approach to practicing and it’s something I constantly refer back to in my teaching. In his book Helping Parents Practice, he writes:

"As I have watched parents practice over the years, I notice that one of the primary ways they create nasty practices for themselves and their children is by attempting to shoot several arrows at once. ‘Johnny, good job getting the bow straight. Play it again and make sure that you also keep the speed even and remember to keep your pinkie round and to let the bow float off the string when the piece is over. And don’t be so timid!'

Overload. Just as a bow can only hold one arrow at a time, you’ll find that practices will be most productive if you remember that your child can only hold one thing to work on at any time." (page 64)

I think our natural inclination is to want to fix every little mistake we see because our gut tells us it's a good thing. We think we are helping when we spew out a long list of things to correct but we are only letting our pride get the best of us. It's much easier to tell someone all the things they need to work on than to be patient enough to see that what we are saying may be causing overwhelming frustation that's not helpful. Imagine being on the receiving end of someone telling you ten areas in your life that need improvement. That would not motivate me to work harder or listen further to what this person had to say! 

As a teacher I have had to fight back my tendency to teach my students like this. It has taken time and practice to hone the skill of teaching one point at a time but I will say that once this became more natural for me, there was no turning back! Focusing on one point at a time gives the student a tangible goal to work on during our lesson and once that goal is achieved, their confidence grows and I become their biggest cheerleader! This helps my students leave our lessons with a better sense of what they need to work on and take responsibility for their learning. This is especially beneficial for my younger students who are still learning what it means to work hard on the things they aren't able to figure out right away. Teaching one point at a time requires patience and discipline on my part to accurately observe the student while keeping track of what technique to work on next. It has been worth my while and I hope my student's families see the results of this.