It was one of those normal viola lessons, although my student seemed more impatient than usual. More grumblings, more frustrations, and definitely less focus than normal. He was doing a good job as he normally does, but didn't really seem to think so. We kept on going, and I tried to maintain as positive of an attitude as possible to keep him motivated. At the end we played a very difficult duet that he's been working on for weeks.

After the lesson ended, I patted him on the back and told him good job. I was surprised when he let out a sigh of relief and a huge smile came over his face. "Thank you, I needed that." I waited a moment until he elaborated: "I have been really negative this whole week."

I smiled, saying things could get that way, and encouraged him to keep looking at the positive aspects of his music making. He nodded, thanked me again, packed up his stuff, and left quickly, as he normally does.

I just about teared up. I had no idea my pushing him was making his week better, and not more miserable. We, as teachers, never quite know what effect we're having on our students. It's pretty amazing when they tell us.