Teaching with an Open Heart is a two day, interactive workshop for Suzuki teachers of all instruments. The course will utilize a variety of communication applications including powerpoint, video, lecture, discussion, and experiential activities to explore many of the ideas presented in this ground breaking book.
Participants will gain an understanding of energy and how we use it in our own playing, our teaching and with our students and parents. The workshop is very interactive…there are many opportunities to participate in fun and insightful activities which will help you to understand these energetic principles.
Topics covered will include:
- Understanding the principles of energy
- Developing Energy Awareness
- The power of the witness
- The seven levels of awareness
- Priority Teaching
- Developing Musicianship through the first three Suzuki Volumes
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Group Class - What it’s really all about from an energetic perspective
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Develop and implement your vision as a teacher
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How to manifest your vision in the physical world
Course requirements:
- Do you have a well-functioning device for everyone in your household to participate as needed? Devices should include a video camera and microphone. An external microphone is a plus but not a necessity. Chrome books do not tend to do well with music-making over Zoom, but other desktops and laptops are a good option, as are most up-to-date cell phones and tablets.
- Is your household internet connectivity and bandwidth strong enough to manage a day of classes and recitals, possibly on multiple devices if others in the household must be online at the same time as the course.
- As we all know from the last few weeks, Zoom isn't perfect! There is always a chance that due to an internet glitch or some other unknown factors, you just might miss a class or a lesson once in awhile. Please understand that there will be no refunds issued for any missed sessions. We will record most of the lectures and make them available for future reference.
Please note: This online version of Teaching with an Open Heart is not offered as an SAA supplemental Teacher Training Course and registration of this course will not appear on your SAA profile.
“I have had the privilege of working personally with two of the world’s inspired teachers and luminaries: Dr. Shin’ichi Suzuki and Dr. Barbara Ann Brennan. Both have had a profound effect on my life, and the influence of their work is reflected in the pages of this book. I dedicated this book to them, with deepest gratitude for their gifts to the human spirit.”
- Edward Kreitman, Author - Teaching with an Open Heart
"Teaching with an Open Heart is written in the classic Kreitman style, full of clear and concise information, concrete examples, and constructive ideas."
- Edmund Sprunger, MSW, SAA Registered Teacher Trainer, and author of Helping Parents Practice
“Teaching with an Open Heart is an exquisite tribute to Shin’ichi Suzuki, a commentary that illuminates the heart of his philosophy. The book has given me a deeper awareness in my teaching, a joy in sensing the wholeness of a student’s engagement when skill and heart come together in the moment of music making. This profound book has inspired in me a new sense of the value of what we do in our work with children.”
- Janis Wittrig, Suzuki Violin Teacher
“Edward Kreitman has taken the life-altering experience of open-heart surgery and subsequent learnings— medical, psychological, and spiritual — and integrated them into his life as a wholistic teacher. Teaching with an Open Heart will inform and inspire others who teach the violin. The truths he shares, however, go far beyond the instrument, mirroring the teachings of Dr. Suzuki, that we are “educating for life through music.” This book will become a core text for me in teaching all aspects of human relations and emotional intelligence.”
- Kay Collier McLaughlin, PhD, Director for Leadership Development and Independent Human Relations-Emotional Intelligence consultant. Author of They’re Rarely Too Young and Never Too Old to “Twinkle”
Testimonials from previous course participants:
"While most teacher training courses build awareness of teaching points, Edward Kreitman’s, Teaching With an Open Heart, develops awareness of people. The course was a rejuvenating breath of fresh air for me as a teacher and performer; not only opening a host of better practices and techniques, but helping me understand why I love what I do.
Every day brought new and engaging insights that I never considered in my years of teaching: energy flow, expansion and contraction, and seven levels of awareness, among a host of other topics. Weeks after the course, I find myself returning to my notes to unpack more ideas. To say that the course transformed my teaching would be an understatement. Teaching With an Open Heart reshaped the relationship I have with my instrument and transformed the intentions of my teaching and playing.
Do not consider Teaching With an Open Heart a mere supplement to your Suzuki book classes. It is essential to understanding the purpose and philosophy of the Suzuki Method as a whole."
- Drew
I've been using what we worked on in the class ever since I left..... individual lessons, group lessons, new beginners, remedial adults..... Energy follows intention.... Energy follows intention... What's YOUR intention? What do you want to focus on as you play this piece for me? how it sounds? how it looks? how it feels? is it a gift to someone you love?
I notice my colleagues are not asking these questions, and they seem so obvious and natural to me now. I recommend your course for every Suzuki teacher.
The course was so informative. What I absolutely love best about the course was the opportunity you created for us to get to know each other on a deeper level. To be able to connect with other teachers and share our fears, our disappointments, our triumphs..... This was the first time I've had this type of experience with other Suzuki teachers, and it is invaluable to me.
I would consider taking the class again to practice and reinforce the energy work, and to forge new relationships in the Suzuki community.
Thank you Ed, and thank you All!
- Amy