Edmund Sprunger

Last summer, focus groups at summer Institutes were asked to submit questions for a panel of “Suzuki Experts” to answer. This is the 6th installment, on practicing and psychological development.

What are some ways to make practicing more interesting?

I’m certainly not opposed to finding ways to make practicing more interesting—in fact, in the “Practice Basics” chapter of my book, Helping Parents Practice, Vol. 1, I encourage parents to “Look for Opportunities to Play Games and Have Fun.” The appendix also gives several examples. This question, however, can be a distraction from some of the very real issues that make practicing difficult. In other words, although you can try using air freshener, you’re better off quitting smoking.

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Ideas for using children’s lessons and practice times (i.e. home lessons) to accomplish our biggest job: to become useless. We accomplish this task through helping students develop a variety of skills, especially the skills to teach themselves. Edmund Sprunger, (MI) Teacher Trainer and author of Helping Parents Practice.

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