Nan Ellis is the Coordinator of Keyboard Studies at Presbyterian
College in Clinton, South Carolina, where she teaches applied piano, piano
literature, and piano pedagogy and directs the annual Keyboard Clinics.
She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degree from the
University of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Music degree from
Converse College. As the recipient of several fellowships for
international study, Dr. Ellis has appeared in recitals in Germany,
Austria, Poland, and India. During the summers she serves on the faculty
of the Interlochen Arts Camp.
Nan J. Ellis
Presbyterian College
PO Box 975
Clinton, SC 29325
864.833.8467
njellis@cs1.presby.edu
The issue of standards in piano teaching is powerful, controversial, and and perhaps sensitive to those of us who seek to encourage our students toward a high level of artistry. Though I have always been passionately interested in these established levels of quality in our field because they invited challenges to my teaching, I never thought too much about their relevance until I was asked to speak about them to a group of piano teachers recently. It was then that I had to face the issue and ask the question, "Why have Standards?"
Pondering that question prompted further questions. In fact, one question led to another. One of the first questions that came to my mind was, "Are the words standard and teaching related in any way?"
In the dictionary, I found that the origin of the noun standard is the Old French word estandard, which means rallying point. The first definition of standard in modern usage is, a conspicuous object (as a banner) formerly carried at the top of a pole and used to mark a rallying point, especially in battle or to serve as an emblem.1 The word emblem somehow remained in my mind. Consider also that the word standard is synonymous with the words criterion, gauge, yardstick, and touchstone. All of these words can be understood as a means of determining what a thing should be.2
I also looked up the origin of the verb teach, and found the Middle English word techen, the Old English word taecan, and the modern word token.3 A token is an outward sign or expression, a symbol or emblem.4 I remembered finding the word emblem connected to the definition of standard. Could it be that our standards are emblems, or tokens, of our teaching? I believe we can think of them that way. We can also determine a definite connection between the words standard and teaching. Both words are linked through their synonyms to the word emblem. The modern definition of the verb teach means to cause to acquire knowledge or skill.5 One of its synonyms is educate, which has an origin in the word educere, meaning to lead forth.6 If in fact we as teachers are leaders, then surely we must lead forth bearing standards.
The question, "Why have standards?" led me to wonder, "Why not have standards?" As previously defined, a standard is a means of determining what a thing should be. We believe that standards are important when considering the quality of the academic education we want for our children at the precollege level. Today, more than ever, the education of our children is being viewed as one of the keys to our nations future. There is a national outcry these days in favor of more uniform scholastic standards for all of our children. The notion has become a political issue. In my home state of South Carolina, there has been so much effort put into the area of educational improvement in view of our national ranking in recent years, that it is virtually impossible not to be influenced by the movement. What reason, then, do we have for not moving in a similar direction with piano teaching?
We could answer that we are in the uncomfortable position of teaching a subject which competes for a place in the students schedule. And for that reason, perhaps we should be careful about the demands we place on that time.
I like the view of the late Francis Clark, when confronted with this dilemma. She wrote:
The worry about activities that compete for a students time, about lack of practice and lower performance standards has been around as long as I've been teaching. I remember concern that band (with the allure of uniforms, marching, and togetherness) would cut into piano study; I remember the panic when parents first rushed out to buy television sets and teachers were sure no one would ever be able to practice at home again; I remember the pressure of the Sputnick days and the hours of homework young piano students had to face for the first time; I remember the advent of after-school sports programs that kept many youngsters on the playing fields until supper time and made it a headache even to schedule their lessons. Now our latchkey children come home to empty houses where computers and VCRs compete with homework (and endless telephone calls?) for time that might otherwise be spent at the piano.All that's new today is that change is occurring faster, the list of activities that compete for a students time is long and family life as we once knew it has changed. But music is tough stuff. Piano students have survived all these changes; piano study has survived all this competition. Piano teachers must be a tough breed, too, for they have survived as well.7
Ms. Clark wrote these words of encouragement and reassurance in 1985. They are equally relevant as we face the new millennium. Indeed, if we look at ourselves today, as piano teachers we are survivors. As survivors, we must continue the quest for excellence by promoting the highest standards for our students. To do this, we are fortunate to have all of the new insights into the teaching-learning process, along with the latest materials and approaches for meeting our students on their own terms and involving them in an actively creative experience, rather than a passively entertaining one.
My closing thoughts on the question "Why have standards?" led me to ask "What do our students need?" Experience has taught us the following lessons:
With these directions for successful accomplishment clearly in our minds, we know that our students need recognition. And they need goals in order to achieve recognition. These goals for excellence can be achieved through participation in a variety of events, for example: recital performances, competitions, festivals, master classes, workshops, and summer camps. And it is often the standards and choice of the repertoire performed for these opportunities which determine a student's success.
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