Here's something you may not know about me: I love pizza.
It's been my favorite food since I was five, as illustrated in a construction-paper preschool project about my favorite things (macaroni and cheese was a strong contender).
As an adult, I've turned this into a hobby. My husband, Steve, and I have pizza nights about once a month. This is a 24-hour event that begins with making the dough, a double rise, stretching, par-baking, topping, broiling, and of course, eating.
We've learned a lot from pizza nights, but we're still tweaking our process. Each month, I open the note on my phone and review the notes I made the previous month on things to adjust or do differently: proportion of ingredients, rise time, oven temperature, baking stone vs. steel, baking time, how to get the perfect char, and our favorite toppings (the classic Margherita is still our favorite).
It's an experiential learning cycle: experimenting, experiencing, reflecting, and learning from the experience.
This is true for our teaching practice, as well. We're always tweaking, experimenting, evaluating, and studying the outcomes.
As we look toward the year ahead (whatever it may hold), I encourage you to reflect on a few questions:
How have the events of the last year changed you as a teacher and musician?
What will you do differently going forward?
What have you learned?
What strategies will you keep? What strategies will you change?
What do you want to learn this month?
We've come a long way since last August. I hope you'll take a moment this week to recognize and acknowledge that and make a few notes about what you want to adjust or do differently going forward.
I believe we're always learning, evolving, and adapting, as teachers and pizza chefs. π
What will you try next?
