We at Classical Foundations believe in adapting education to the pupil’s abilities and temperament. We look at the pupil as he or she is, rather than what national statistics say he or she ought to be. Each of us is unique and we bring to the lesson a host of strengths, weaknesses, fears, and passions, as well as a specific aptitude and temperament.

To gain the best from one-on-one lessons, we have learned over the years a few tips:

The pupil should be prepared for the lesson:

bring the right materials

think about what your lesson will cover

think about what you struggled on in the week

think about what was exciting and what you achieved

Most of the preparation for the lesson takes place at home of course. The lesson acts as a focus session for your skills and concerns; the half hour or hour is thus usually relatively intensive, going over what you’ve been learning or practising, and moving on to the following week’s targets.

The home environment is thus where most of the learning goes on. For that reason, particularly addressing parents of younger pupils, you have to consider several important factors:

Do you create good conditions for the child to learn in? To learn effectively, there must be a learning zone in the house – a space that the child associates quiet, concentrated learning to do homework or to practise an instrument. If space is intensively used in the house, then set aside a time for a room to become a learning zone. All distractions must be removed from this zone – there should be no TV on: images and/or sounds distract intensely! Other members of the family should be taught to respect the learning time, and be encouraged to use that zone too! And this includes parents – children’s greatest role models are their parents/guardians, so if you take the lead and show them that you use a learning zone to do your own work, or to read quietly, they will settle down into a good working habit quicker.

NB: TV is a powerful drug that effectively sedates the mind into a passivity: homework and practise, nevermind social skills, literacy, and knowledge have all suffered in the latest generations. Check the Plug in Drug - a classical recently revised and updated to include the effect of "screen time" (computers, nintedos, playstations and whatnots, as well as TV) on childrens lives and education.

If you’re not engaged in any learning – then take something up! It’s never too late to learn an instrument, or a new language, or a skill: don’t forget, your child learns massively from you. Or you could catch up on some reading while your child practises.

If you say, ‘I’ve no time’, then you’re child will use the same cue to avoid practising music or doing homework (we’ve heard it often!). You make time: drop less important things for you child’s education. Music practice should take place every day – it should become as regular as brushing teeth! (Some parents express a difficulty in even getting their children to brush their teeth, which means that the child has learned to ‘get away’ with no discipline in life – they’ve won a major war in that respect. Imagine trying to get them to do their homework or practise an instrument if they haven’t been disciplined in basic hygiene!). Of course, the child has not ‘got away’ with anything, when he has to knuckle down to study, he won’t!

Regular practice requires a discipline, but a discipline that becomes highly rewarding and enjoyable, for we learn that we move on to higher and better skills. Learning an instrument or an academic subject is not like plugging in software and pressing ‘set up’ and ‘run’; it requires effort and concentration – these are not easy and they require all the help from family to get them going, but when the child becomes disciplined and learns to focus, he or she will enjoy progressing and becoming increasingly accomplished. Don’t allow your child to think that they can improve without practice – set them an example, so learn something new, or show them how you settle down to work if you have work to bring home or to do.

If you say, ‘Oh, I’m not good at anything, I’m just bringing up the kids,’ then use what skills you do employ every day to teach your children: teach them how to prepare a meal, to tidy and organise the house, to make beds, to iron, do some gardening, etc. Then you can ask the child to show you how they are practising the piano or cello, or how they completed their homework.

Learning at home involves the family. The family must respect the child’s learning, encourage it, and become good role models themselves: very rarely do classmates and the child’s peer group fulfil that function.