Today I want to tell you about Miss S. She has been teaching our children violin for nearly two years, although we have been taking violin lessons now for five years. Miss S is 70 years old, and emigrated here from Russia when she was about 58. Besides holding a PhD. in Music, she has many credentials from her life prior to the US. She has about 45 private violin students at present. Over the years, her students have won numerous competitions, and some have even received full scholarships due to their violin abilities. She has very high standards, and can really lead a child to become accomplished in the violin. Her life is all about teaching.

We have never known or experienced a more dedicated teacher. We have experienced other violin teachers who have come and gone, and sadly, they were not always passionate about serving their students to the best of their ability. Miss S is different. She genuinely cares about her students, all of the time. We appreciate her so much. She is not the "warm fuzzy" type and she is not given to much small talk during the lesson. When you are with her, she is all business. She is completely focused on the topic at hand. She is gentle with our 5 year old, and is somewhat tougher on our 8 year old, from whom she expects a lot more. We have had a few "bad" days, when she has not had much patience with one of the children. What triggers the bad days is usually when one of the children's attitude is not what it should be. When he/she doesn't want to work at the lesson, or when he/she wants to be goofy or act like he/she isn't paying attention. Miss S puts 100% of her energy, physically and mentally, into every minute of her lesson. She demonstrates that she really values the lesson time. There is something about her attitude toward her students that makes you want to do your very best to please her, as a student, and as a student's MOM. We have developed a relationship of mutual respect and admiration. If you want a teacher who will raise the bar for your child, Miss S is definitely the right one. She is quite possibly one of the finest teachers of the violin in our state.

As parents, we have wanted to give our children the gift of being very good at something. We are totally not athletic, so we didn't see ourselves being that dedicated to any sport. But violin we could manage, although I don't have much of a music background. But we have committed ourselves to daily practice. Our kids don't even remember when they didn't practice violin every day. Practice is as routine as eating. The both started at age 3. My ds definitely puts in a half hour to 45 minutes of practice every day, and our dd puts in about 20 minutes a day of practice. It's a good thing our kids love violin. Our son, especially, enjoys it more and more each year. And every detail of the practice is orchestrated by me. I have to take detailed notes during the lesson, and then reinforce everything that Miss S says each lesson. So when we return to her each week, she can tell that they have really been practicing what she has asked. So, we benefit from Miss S's exacting nature and her high standards, but when it comes down to it, it is all about practicing the details daily.

Another thing that is significant is that Miss S is probably the first adult in our ds's life who has gained his total 100% respect. More than anybody. When he began with her, when he was 6, he seemed to have a problem with taking anyone, or anything, seriously. I was starting to really worry about him. When we began with Miss S, our son would take all these mini "vacations" in the middle of the lesson -- he would collapse on the floor in the middle of the lesson, and roll around, or he would walk over and look out the window or comment on his sister, or on the weather, or whatever. Now, he is totally focused on everything Miss S says and shows total attention and respect for her. I know that he has gotten older, but she has been able to derive respect and focus from him like no other person has. Our son's skills just TOOK OFF under Miss S's tutelage.

This past year, our son was the district concerto winner in his division, and his chamber trio took 1st place at state this year. He was in the first chamber trio (all boys!) that our local Suzuki school has ever had, and they won. We were so proud of all the kids this year.

We have already experienced violin teachers who were not very committed to their lesson times, not notifying the parents in advance that they wouldn't be at a lesson. But Miss S is the opposite. The only time she has had to cancel a lesson, she called me from a hospital bed to tell me! She really respects us and our time.

After our previous teacher announced she was moving away, she recommended Miss S. Lessons with Miss S were much different than they had been with the previous teacher, and it was an adjustment for us. I explained to my son that he would be learning to play violin BETTER than before, and he truly came to understand that in a short time. Fast forward two years, and Miss S has truly worked her way into our hearts.

The scariest time this year was a week back in January. She gave us our lesson one day while she was feeling very ill. She lives alone, and I didn't sleep for three nights worrying about her that she might have had a heart attack and died. I couldn't reach her by phone, and the violin school owner didn't know anything either. Finally on the third day, I was able to reach her daughter by phone and discovered that she had ended up in the hospital that evening (after our lesson) with an acute digestive condition. She was soon better, and was back to teaching us the following Monday. What a relief! It was then that I realized what a special lady she is to us. It was really special for me to see how much my kids cared about her. They drew her pictures and sent her get well letters (and "thank you for teaching us violin even when you didn't feel good..." notes) and I remember my dd praying for "Miss S to get all better". Recalling that time really touches me, even now. I know she really appreciated the kids notes and pictures, too. It was a good teachable moment for my kids' character training, because it gave me a chance to talk to them about a person's dedication even during illness, etc.

We appreciate every week we are able to see her for our lesson, and we hope and pray that we will have her as our teacher for ten plus years to come.

The Suzuki Method is all about love, gentleness, patience and persistence. Miss S has a good sense of humor, too. We have had many good laughs together during our lessons. The key is .... mutual respect. She has many students (mostly girls) that she has had for a long time - even 11 or 12 years, and you can see that those students have a really good relationship with her. I have seen them bring her flowers and gifts to honor her on her birthday, etc., and they relate to her very well. And she is SO proud of them, too, like they are her daughters. We cherish her. She is a treasure, and a person of great integrity.