I was trying to explain to a parent new to the Suzuki Method why the Suzuki teachers from the Ithaca Virtual Suzuki Experience were so different from each other.

She observed wide variance in teaching styles, interests, strategies, stories, and games.

“Imagine one-hundred master chefs,” I started to explain. “If each were given the task of making a grilled-cheese sandwich, consider the diversity of grilled-cheese sandwiches you’d be handed!”

When asked to ground ourselves in a common repertoire and philosophy, we Suzuki teachers don’t collapse into a one-dimensional monolith. Quite the opposite. Unifying around one project highlights just how different we all are from each other: our backgrounds, our personalities, our gifts.

And we can guarantee every child who comes into contact with this common repertoire and philosophy will have their beautiful uniqueness highlighted, too.