(This is my experience from taking Book 2 training in 2018. For Book 1, go here.)
Ever since taking Book 1 training a year ago, I had been keeping an eye out for potential Book 2 training courses. I thought about going to a summer institute, but it didn't end up working out, so I wasn't sure when I was going to be able to cross this off my list. Then in November, Dr. Scott (my trainer from last year) announced she would do Book 2 in January. Excellent. I renewed my membership with the SAA (Suzuki Association of Americas), submitted my audition, and signed up for the course. Book 2 here we go!
January 26: Day 1
In a stark contrast to Book 1 training, Book 2 needs only 15 hours of classroom time and 8 hours of lesson observation (Book 1 is 28 and 15 hours, respectively). For our first meeting of two hours, we reviewed some general concepts that should have been covered while a student is in Book 1. We played through some of the songs in Book 1 as a refresher/warm up, and also talked a little about setup and potential pitfalls that can affect more advanced skills if the setup isn't correct at the beginning.
January 27: Day 2
I started today off by observing the 10 o'clock hour of String Project, a group class taught by a former SP teacher. I'm not as comfortable planning for or teaching group class, so this was a really helpful morning for me! Then, our classroom time was spent doing another hour of observation of Dr. Scott, talking about how to work on intonation, going over the first few pieces in Book 2 and how to teach them, and having a discussion regarding the SAA Code of Ethics.
January 28: Day 3
Today again started with an hour of observation, and then more of step-by-step instruction of how to teach the next few songs in Book 2. We've done 8 out of 12 so far, so we're speeding along! Class ended with an hour of planning and presenting group lesson plans.
January 31: lesson observations
This was not a day on the schedule, but a day when I got my other two hours of lesson observations in. I went to Monarch Suzuki Academy in Austin and observed four different students for a half hour each.
February 3: Day 4
Today again started with observations from the 10 o'clock hour of String Project. During classroom time, we got another hour of observation, then finished off teaching points and strategies for the remainder of the songs in Book 2. Other things we talked about: how rhythm and pulse are different, singing, and how to introduce reading music and sightreading.
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| Twinkle while walking around the room |
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| Twinkle Variation B while sitting on the ground and crossing/uncrossing legs every beat! |
February 4: Day 5
We made it! On the last day we started with a run through of all songs in Book 2 by memory, then had our last hour of observations in class. We also talked about tone, vibrato, and shifting. We ended training by sharing fun facts about each of the songs that we had been assigned to research during the first weekend. Exit interviews with Dr. Scott were short and sweet, and that was it!
I'm really glad I took this training. Students in the beginning stages of playing the violin are the most stressful for me, and Book 2 training really helped me to understand exactly how Book 2 prepares students for more advanced and complicated repertoire that is right around the corner.
9 down. 21 to go!
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