The uniqueness of being

 

This issue contains two feature articles on teaching students with special needs. These excellent articles will serve as a welcome resource for teachers who may find an increasing percentage of this population seeking out music lessons. As I read the articles and considered some of the important teaching principles outlined by the expert authors, I couldn’t help but think about what it means to be special, what it means to be unique, and what it means to be different. While some students certainly have characteristics that are different from what we might term the “general” population, the fact of the matter is that every student is a unique individual and should be treated as such.

James Bond at the bank

I’m not a big fan of running errands. I must admit, however, that I enjoy going to the bank if we need to get into our safe-deposit box.

The vault at our bank uses a hand scanner for identification. I type in my box number, place my hand on the scanner, and the vault clicks open. For me, this is satisfying and fulfilling on three separate levels. For starters, I don’t have to interact with a bank employee and listen to a sales pitch about their latest credit card. Even better is the fact that I don’t have to tax an already addled section of my brain with another password to remember. Ultimately, however, it is the coolness factor that is the most rewarding. This is as close to James Bond as my everyday, average life ever gets.

One in seven billion

While the technology in the hand scanner is fascinating, the principle behind it is even more interesting, at least to me. I don’t need to remember a password, because I am the only human being on the planet with my specific set of hand/fingerprint characteristics. At some point next year the world’s population will surpass seven billion, and no two of these seven billion people will have the same handprint or fingerprint.

As any fan of a forensic-science drama will tell you, the uniqueness of humans is not limited to the pianist’s tools of the trade (fingers and hands). Each human being owns a unique voiceprint (also musical!), a unique iris pattern, a unique tongue print, and a unique combination of facial characteristics that can now be identified with facial-recognition technology. Footprints are often used to identify newborns in hospitals, and dental records provide identification of otherwise unrecognizable human remains. Of course we are also well aware, from Hollywood and the news media, that each human has a unique pattern of DNA, biological material that can be gleaned from a multitude of sources.

Seven billion is a big number, basically too big for me to comprehend, yet each one of us is unique. While I’m no expert, it seems to me that the world’s population could continue to grow, perhaps indefinitely, and this human uniqueness would not be compromised.

Uniqueness of action

Human uniqueness is not limited to physiological traits. Behaviorists and other psychologists are identifying an increasing number of behavioral characteristics that can reliably identify individuals. One of these characteristics, handwriting, has been analyzed as an identifier for some time. As a sign of the times, however, researchers have been analyzing typing patterns (the modern-day handwriting) of individuals. This science, known as keystroke dynamics, argues that by precisely analyzing variations in speed and interval between specific letter combinations, individuals can be identified by measuring their typing. Another behavioral trait that appears to have potential as an identifier is walking gait.

Of course all of this science is confirming something that we intuitively know from a young age—each one of us is unique and different in a myriad of ways.We all have individual characteristics that set us apart from the billions of other humans on the planet; no two of us are or will ever be exactly the same. It is inspiring to me to think that each one of us came into existence as a singular individual, an original with no duplicates.

Teaching to uniqueness

If we are used to teaching a population of typically developing students, then it may be tempting to see a student with special needs as someone who requires a unique approach to instruction. As you read the articles written by Scott Price and Beth Bauer, however, I think you’ll find, as did I, that their specific suggestions for instruction and teaching are applicable to almost any student. If we remember that each student is in fact unique and special to begin with, we begin to realize that students with special needs don’t need to be viewed as unusual. If we are all fundamentally unique and different as human beings, then being different is not really anything special—it is a part of each one of us.
 As Scott Price so eloquently puts it, we need to see the students as normal, and ourselves as the ones with special or different characteristics. This philosophy of changing ourselves so that we can identify with our students and enter their worlds is a powerful and effective principle that lies at the heart of good instruction.

Perhaps your 3:30 student on Tuesdays doesn’t have a medically diagnosed condition, but he may react to rhythm in a way that is “different” from many of your other students. Your 4:15 student may not be a visual learner like the majority of the population— instead she may pick up most of her knowledge aurally. We know that students learn differently, have different personality types, and have different ways of processing and retaining information. If we are teaching these students with a onesize- fits-all approach, not only are we missing the point of individual instruction, but we are also losing a great deal of teaching effectiveness and efficiency.

Two of the greatest teachers in the pianistic tradition, Liszt and Leschetizky, famously avoided teaching all of their students via a singular method, instead choosing to address each student differently in an effort to both meet the needs of the student and preserve some sense of artistic license. This is an important point: in addition to recognizing the differences in learning styles and modes among our students, we should also consider and celebrate the uniqueness of taste. Without varying tastes and interpretations our world would not be very interesting. Imagine only one interpretation of a Chopin nocturne, knowing that no matter who was playing it would always sound exactly the same. Just because we might not personally care for a certain piece, genre, or style of music doesn’t mean that our students have the same view.While it is certainly true that we have an obligation to help students broaden and refine their tastes, we should take care against being too dogmatic and closing doors that our students may be quite interested in entering.

When we do teach students with special needs, of course we need to make all possible adjustments to our teaching to allow them to understand and experience music in a way that makes sense to them. When we do so, these students can flourish and thrive, and music can be a meaningful and important part of their lives. In my opinion this should not be viewed as a challenge or an obstacle, but instead as an opportunity—a chance for teachers to expand their horizons and improve their planning, communication, and interactive skills.

I hope, dear reader, that you welcome students of all types into your studio, that you take time to consider the uniqueness of each one of them, and that you teach accordingly. Uniqueness is a part of our being, and it is something that is special— for each of us. Taking the time to understand a student, enter his world, and tailor instruction that is best suited to his needs is an essential quality in teaching a student with special needs, but it is an approach that will benefit all of our students and reward us as teachers.

 

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