Kevin, our violist, reflects on teaching Jayden:

“As we begin our sixth year of teaching at Woodford Academy, one of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is the value of relationships.  In our after school program, the number one priority is that every week each student receives a private lesson.  It’s through these lessons that relationships are built.  A strong relationship greatly enhances the student’s level of motivation and therefore increases their likelihood of learning. A good relationship can also be a catalyst for improving behavior, and building confidence.

Jayden started in our program in the 4th grade.  He was a small, shy kid, and it took a lot of motivation to keep him going on the violin.  Week after week, he’d slowly start to open up more, sharing a little bit more about himself, while also showing more and more confidence on the violin.  By the end of his first year, he was able to play a solo in front of his peers (which was no small feat!).  The violin became his voice.  By his 5th and 6th grade years, he was highly motivated to learn as much as he could.  Every week he would come to his lesson asking to learn a piece of music that he’d heard somewhere throughout his week, either from the radio or in a video game.  We’d do our best to try and adapt it to the violin.  Not only did this give us something to discuss, but also made learning the violin much more meaningful.”

Stories like this are the reason we teach, and your support is what makes them possible - please help us reach more kids like Jayden with a donation!