2024 – December
Submitted by – Connecting Canada Professional Development
Starting Up or Starting Over
Presenter: Amy Boyes
For all teachers, building a private studio is a career-long endeavour. Not just at the beginning of a career, or after a move, but throughout a career, the need for renewal and growth is always present.
Recently, I started over. After twelve years as a studio teacher in Ottawa, Ontario, I moved with my family to a bedroom community of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, close to where my husband grew up. Although perfect for my family, the move from a big eastern city to a small prairie one presented many challenges for my studio. When overwhelmed in recent months by the enormity of the task ahead, I’ve tried to do the following:
Accept that a new studio will not look and sound like the old studio.
Connect with the teaching community and ask for help.
Observe other teachers’ successes and emulate their best practices.
Respect the social and cultural differences that make a community unique.
Normalize a certain amount of failure.
For all teachers, building a private studio is a career-long endeavour. Not just at the beginning of a career, or after a move, but throughout a career, the need for renewal and growth is always present.
