ISA took on the Leaky Bucket Challenge!

At the start of this semester, ISA held a practice challenge called the Leaky Bucket Practice Challenge. Rachel Osterhouse, our executive director, was inspired to make the challenge from this article by Ryan Caparella, violin & viola faculty at the Western Springs School of Talent Education & Naperville Suzuki School, called “The Leaky Bucket: Consistency in Practice.”

Despite our best efforts, our brains are not infallible - the old adage of “use it or lose it” is even more true when talking about our instrumental skill. We have to keep practicing and playing in order to retain our skill level, never mind continuing to progress and learn new skills. As Caparella stated in the article:

“If you want to fill a bucket with a slow leak, this is a 100% attainable goal so long as the rate at which you add to the bucket exceeds the rate of the leak. The moment we stop adding to the bucket, the water level not only ceases its rise, but begins to fall.  When we resume filling the bucket, we find that we have to make up for the loss before we can accomplish any new gains: we must redo the work we’ve already done, which is a significant frustration for adults, and an even bigger one for children.”

We need to have consistent practice, not just a certain amount of minutes per week - consistency is key to retention. 

With that in mind, our director designed a Leaky Bucket Practice Challenge to challenge ISA students to strive for 6 weeks of consistent practice - 5+ days a week. The students and parents kept track at home and reported back to their teachers. Each week of consistent practice brought bigger and bigger rewards, culminating in a grand prize of a king size candy bar. We had MANY students reach this milestone - almost 50 students across all instruments! It was exciting to see how this motivated students to stay consistent and inspired discussions with teachers and parents about the frequency of practicing. 

Check the photos below to see our Leaky Bucket Champions! 

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