For those who teach children music, the primary relationship is directly with the child. That’s who the teacher spends the most time with, is invested in, and hopes will respond to their influence. However, there is a third party in the relationship: the parent. At the very least, parents are involved in the logistics of scheduling and transportation of the students. At the most, parents guide the student’s practicing, are involved in repertoire choices and shape your approach to teaching. So what’s the best way to navigate this relationship? Stacy Smith has a unique perspective on this question as both a mother of 5 musicians and a violin teacher herself. What do parents wish teachers knew, and what do teachers with parents knew? Stacy’s here to tell us.
Meet Stacy Smith, Violin Teacher
Stacy Smith, violin, is a Suzuki Strings Specialist in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD outside of Fort Worth, Texas. Formerly the Faculty and Artistic Director of the Intermountain Suzuki String Institute, the Suzuki Program Director at the Gifted Music School in Salt Lake City, Utah, and President of the Suzuki Association of Utah, Stacy has a degree in Violin Performance from the University of Utah where she studied with Gerald Elias and Mischa Boguslavsky. Ms. Smith has completed hundreds of hours of Suzuki training, primarily with Edmund Sprunger, Jeanne Grover, Linda Fiore, Mark Mutter, Cathy Lee, Carey Beth Hockett and others, and is truly passionate about Suzuki Education.
Stacy is a Suzuki mom to five children: a violist, two violinists, a pianist, and a bassist, all of whom provide her most in-depth Suzuki training.
