Sdoia-Satz Offers Summer Tutoring for Adults and Children

What are YOUR children doing this summer? Studies have shown that students often lose one to three months of learning over the summer break especially in Reading, Spelling and Math. With federal and state budgets not even giving schools enough tools for regular studies, students who would like programs for enrichment or remedial help are without resources. Do you REALLY want your child spending the whole summer playing video games and watching TV and forgetting most of what they struggled so hard to learn?

Continuing learning through tutoring during the summer months is a wonderful way of insuring a positive school year ahead. There are so many benefits to this.
1. Tutoring during the summer enables children to master important skills or explore areas of interest in a fun way, and feel a personal commitment through individualized one-on-one learning.
2. Tutoring during the summer can help students who didn’t do so well this year catch up and get ahead before the start of the new school year.
3. Tutoring helps develop self-esteem and confidence that may have been destroyed by getting bad grades during the regular school year.
4. Tutoring helps students master the benchmarks necessary for passing state reading, writing, and math standardized tests. .
5. Tutoring helps prepare students in high school by giving them the tools and confidence necessary to take the SAT’s and ACT’s.
6. Tutoring helops children with learning, physical or emotional challenges who can fall back because of skills lost during the summer months

We offer one-on-one tutoring in all academic subjects with warm, patient, understanding instructors with years of teaching experience who REALLY DO know how to make learning FUN!! Tutoring available at our locations or your home. Yes, we’ll even go to you. Reasonable rates. Call us at 305.754.3097.

Practicing Sucks…workshops, seminars, book signings

Barry and Phyllis Satz have been conducting workshops, seminars and book signings all over town for Practicing Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To.  We have spoken at about 15 Barnes and Nobles, 5 Borders stores and several libraries.  On January 20th, Phyllis Sdoia-Satz and Barry Satz will talk about Practicing Sucks and demonstrate how it works at Books and Books at 265  Aragon Avenue at 7 PM. On January 22, Miami Dade School Board will host a 3-hour seminar for instructors from 9 AM to 12 PM based on the information in Practicing Sucks.  But It Doesn’t Have To! at David Lawrence School, 15000 Bay Vista Blvd. N. Miami. Dade County instructors will receive educational credit for attendance. On February 1st, the city of North Miami Public Beach will host a two hour seminar at the North Miami Beach Library 1601 N.E. 164 Street in North Miami Beach. Admission is free to all events. See you there.

More About Practicing Sucks

We are now heavily into revising Practicing Sucks…But It Doesn’t Have To!!! for Rowman and Littlefield. Strange, it doesn’t look anything like the original manuscript. 

Parents — did you know that if you don’t get your child’s instrument fixed, the child will be frustrated when he/she tries to practice?  And if you offer the child a “reward” of not practicing on the weekend if he/she practices well during the week, you are giving a REWARD for not practicing?  Better to suggest, ” ‘Practice early’, so that you have the rest of the day free.”  Keep an eye out here. I’ll write another couple of tips for how to practice and get the best benefit from your practice soon.

Phyllis Sdoia-Satz

PRACTICING SUCKS…But It Doesn’t Have To!!!

We just heard from Rowman and Littlefield that PRACTICING SUCKS…But It Doesn’t Have To!!! is not going to be in the stores until about March 2009.  It takes that long to do the editing and all the other things it takes to produce a book. That means we miss the winter holiday season.  That’s not good.  One could even say that IT SU…  well, you know what I mean.

To Portia

Thanks for your comment, Portia.  You didn’t mention that you’re a student who has learned piano by making use of these tips.,,,,and look at how far you’ve come.  Congratulations.

 

Phyllis Satz

Contract signed with Rowman & Littlefield for Practicing Sucks…But It Doesn’t Have To!!!

Good news.  We have just signed a contract with Rowman & Littlefield for publication of, “Practicing Sucks…But It Doesn’t Have To!!!.  Now the editing and the work REALLY begins.  We don’t have a set publication date yet, but I’m hoping it will be in time for the holidays

Phyllis Satz

An Answer for Angel

Angel asked:

Ms. Satz (I’m assuming I’m talking to the author of the book, correct me if I’m wrong), I have a teenaged daughter who plays the flute. But, sometimes, she would rather play with her friends than practice. I know she’s good, because her music teacher at school said she was, but sometimes…well, she’s just not that into it. Is there anything I can do to get her to practice more or take it seriously? She really has talent, and I don’t want to push her, but I don’t want her to miss out, either. Any suggestions? Angel

You might try arranging for her to play little programs in hospitals and nursing homes.  Even a half hour program would be appreciated by the patients.  Also you might try seting her up with a few other music students and have them play duets or trios, and practice if possible in your house, or a community center, or even in a park (especially during the summer). The problem with getting someone to practice is that they don’t see the forest for the trees.  They think that all there is is practice and no reward.  The reward is finally getting out there and DOING IT!!! The FUN comes from being able to play for people and having them enjoy it and the applause doesn’t hurt either.  It makes the student feel that all the work is worthwhile.  One small concert is good for at least two weeks of inspirational practice. When you have friends over, if the student likes to play, ask her or him to play for your friends. (Of course, if your teenager doesn’t like to play for people, that one won’t work.) Don’t expect the student to want to sit for hours at a time and practice.  Smaller sections of time — a half hour here, a half hour there, works better than expecting a student to practice two hours at a stretch.  Maybe the student will do a better job first thing in the morning for a while, and then later in the day again, and then before bedtime. Choosing periods during the day when nothing else competes with the practice often works well too.  Don’t forget about taking the teenager to concerts where he/she can hear real musicians play the instrument.  Oh, and another thing, never, never tell the student that what he’s playing sounds badly (even if it does).  That’s the quickest way to turn the student off.  Always think positive.  Be creative in your suggestions, and above all, be supportive.  The support of a parent is very important, even if the student pretends it isn’t.  I wish you and your teenager the very best of luck.  Musically speaking, Phyllis Sdoia-Satz

 

Do you have a child studying music who just doesn’t like to practice

Parents of students here at Sdoia-Satz Music Institute, often ask us how to get their children to practice. That’s one of the biggest reasons I wrote the book….to help students, and parents of students find ways to make practice more tolerable.  Let’s face it.  Practicing isn’t fun, but the tips in “Practicing Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To” helps make practicing more productive and enables the student to accomplish more in less time. 

More About “Practicing Sucks” But It Doesn’t Have To” Book

“Practicing Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To!!!” written by Phyllis Sdoia-Satz,  pianist, educator, author, composer and Executive Director of Sdoia-Satz Music Institute in Miami, is the first in a series of books which will help students learn faster, easier, and with less stress than they ever thought possible.  Practicing anything  means repeating something or some part of something again, and again, and again, and again until the student can finally make the body “do” it,   or until it drives the student crazy, whichever comes first.  This first book is written for music students and/or aspiring music students, and/or their parents.  The next book in the series will be on homework, and the one after that will be on physical education.

In a light-hearted manner, the book teaches the music student (and the parent) what to look for, and what to expect, from the very beginning, from the moment they begin contemplating music instruction. It has hundreds of tips for how to make practice  more productive and tolerable, — and how to get the best from practice in the least possible time.  The book is admittedly irreverent and funny, but has words of wisdom ad infinitum.  It talks to the student and the parent from the hip,—no nonsense here. “Practicing Sucks”is a “must read” for anyone  contemplating starting music lessons, or for those who are studying music and wish they could get more from their hard work.

Sdoia-Satz Welcome

We would like to thank everything for coming to the Sdoia-Satz Blog. Please feel free to jump on in and discuss all the happenings of the site and the Sdoia-Satz Music School. We have a lot in store for you as the days and weeks unfold.

This is our first attempt at blogging about the school.