Three Ways to Help Transition Students Post-COVID
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While the pandemic is not over, the upcoming semester will likely bring our first full slate of performances since quarantine. After being forced back to their family homes without access to instruments for months, many of my students vocalized feelings of falling behind, being overwhelmed with catching up or feeling somewhat paralyzed by the thought of jumping right back into hours of daily practice. Below, I offer some ways to help students through this new adjustment.
#1: Prioritize mental health through open conversations
With an influx of college-aged students experiencing mental health issues during and post-pandemic, these conversations can help normalize getting professional help so that students can thrive in their performance and academic goals. This can be as subtle as placing the campus counseling center information on your syllabus, or exemplifying and encouraging a healthy relationship with sleep and specifically scheduled time off each week from practice.
Counseling Services
It is also worth noting that many schools provide free counseling services to their students or help connect them with counselors within their insurance network. If this is not available at your school, there are other options such as local therapists and online services like Betterhelp, which match you with a specialized counselor to fit your needs.
Furthermore, there may be student support groups that can connect their peers with school resources. At Mizzou, our School of Music Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity Collective have specific student intermediaries for this purpose, and we also hosted a School of Music Convocation run by students to discuss how to use campus resources such as the Counseling Center. Since peer support can be a large push for students to get help, I would suggest that student-led groups in schools of music, whether it be a music society or a Greek life organization, also spend time discussing available mental health resources with members.
#2: Establish key points of support within studios
Creating a network of reliable connections within your studio can be an effective way to help students feel supported, while providing an additional point of accountability to keep them on track. At Mizzou, we have a mentor-mentee program, where graduate students meet with their assigned undergraduate mentees three times per semester, whether it be for an extra lesson, a chamber coaching, or just a coffee run.
This can also be beneficial for the mentors. Providing them with opportunities to teach and give advice to younger students will help them develop necessary pedagogical and personal skills necessary to teach effectively.
#3: Set realistic and quantifiable practice expectations and check in on goals
In order to ease back into the routine, I have attempted to be more vocal about specific amounts of time to be spending on pieces. For example, telling my students, “How about you set a 15-minute timer practicing this and do that four times this week.” While these amounts of time can gradually increase throughout the semester, the tangible expectations of time seemed to relieve my students of the impending struggle to jump right back in.
For my younger students, I have even adopted the practice of encouraging a quick journal session after each practice session. I suggest they write down what went well in their practice, and what they would like to improve on next time. They come to lessons excited to share their practice journal with me. I feel that for elementary and middle school students, this shifts the focus from time spent at the instrument, to the experience they had while practicing so that they can build a healthy relationship with practicing regularly.
Good luck!
We have a big transition ahead of us, but it’s always helpful to remember that we are taking on this next step together, especially after so much time apart. Good luck, and remember to lean on the community around you!
