Teaching Talent

I have found that male kindergarteners have more trouble learning the violin than females. A male kindergartener student of mine, who has struggled to learn "Variation A" of "Twinkle-Twinkle," but admitts to never practicing, once complained that I was "making his music bad" when I attempted to assist him in proper holding of his instrument as he played the piece. I have yet to figure out if he thinks that the way he plays is enjoyable (jaw clenching to my ear) and correct (mostly incorrect, due to lack of practice the right way). Then I realized that he is struggling because he finds it impossible to translate what he knows about the music, from having heard it so many times, straight to his own violin. When we play the game, "Name that Wrong Note!" he "buzzes in" at every wrong note, for the first 5 songs in the Suzuki book, but only knowing how to play only one of them (and not that well). He will eventually conquer his struggles the more he plays Twinkle-Twinkle and realizes that it IS easy, he CAN do it, so "Lightly Row" should come easier after this realization, and every song to follow.
When I told an older student of mine that she could pick up a few tips from her younger brother, she was offended, but I knew it was because he had been exposed to Suzuki longer than she had, with more experience in listening than playing.
-Allison Trumbo