CPSA ARTICLE
By Lynn Murphy
From the August/September 1998 issue of the CPSA Newsletter
By Lynn Murphy
From the August/September 1998 issue of the CPSA Newsletter
Association: An organization of persons having a common interest.
Why do I participate in the Central Pennsylvania Suzuki Association? Through the CPSA I am connected with a network of other teachers who are involved and interested in the Suzuki method. This connection; the exchange of ideas, the sharing of experiences, and the pooling of resources has enhanced my teaching and enriched my studio. The Association has facilitated my growth as a teacher by giving me a scholarship for teacher training, and sponsoring a local institute with high quality faculty and teacher trainers that I can observe and study with.
Why are my students members? By being members of CPSA, they are part of something that is bigger than my studio and me. They have available a range of opportunities that would be difficult for me to provide on my own. I can’t! publish a newsletter, run an institute, provide workshops, award scholarships, arrange for all the recital opportunities that come available throughout the year and form the connections they have with other teachers, parents, and students that motivate, support, and encourage them.
Do I request membership of my students who don’t participate in “Suzuki” activities and events? YES! They work with me because they like how I teach and how I run my studio. Even though they don’t participate, they still benefit from the Association through me and my teaching. Thus, I can ask that they support through their memberships the organization that enables me to be the kind of teacher they value.
I have been very vocal about not defining reasons for membership in terms of “what it will do for you,” because to do so misses the reason why the association formed in the first place. Essentially, the CPSA is teachers and parents working together to support and enhance what we are doing for our students and children. What the Association has done for members in the past is not what it does now, is not what it will do in the future. The specifics are very much determined by the needs and ideas of member teachers and parents, and the extent to which they work together to create something. You are encouraged to voice opinions, forward ideas, propose new directions, take initiative and otherwise – Associate! Get involved! This is your organization, and it is really true that those who participate benefit.
Why do I participate in the Central Pennsylvania Suzuki Association? Through the CPSA I am connected with a network of other teachers who are involved and interested in the Suzuki method. This connection; the exchange of ideas, the sharing of experiences, and the pooling of resources has enhanced my teaching and enriched my studio. The Association has facilitated my growth as a teacher by giving me a scholarship for teacher training, and sponsoring a local institute with high quality faculty and teacher trainers that I can observe and study with.
Why are my students members? By being members of CPSA, they are part of something that is bigger than my studio and me. They have available a range of opportunities that would be difficult for me to provide on my own. I can’t! publish a newsletter, run an institute, provide workshops, award scholarships, arrange for all the recital opportunities that come available throughout the year and form the connections they have with other teachers, parents, and students that motivate, support, and encourage them.
Do I request membership of my students who don’t participate in “Suzuki” activities and events? YES! They work with me because they like how I teach and how I run my studio. Even though they don’t participate, they still benefit from the Association through me and my teaching. Thus, I can ask that they support through their memberships the organization that enables me to be the kind of teacher they value.
I have been very vocal about not defining reasons for membership in terms of “what it will do for you,” because to do so misses the reason why the association formed in the first place. Essentially, the CPSA is teachers and parents working together to support and enhance what we are doing for our students and children. What the Association has done for members in the past is not what it does now, is not what it will do in the future. The specifics are very much determined by the needs and ideas of member teachers and parents, and the extent to which they work together to create something. You are encouraged to voice opinions, forward ideas, propose new directions, take initiative and otherwise – Associate! Get involved! This is your organization, and it is really true that those who participate benefit.
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