Welcome to JAM….. My name is Jean Ritter and I am delighted to continue to be a certified Royal Conservatory of Music Advanced Specialist – Piano and Advanced Specialist –Theory designations It has been my pleasure to have been a music educator for over 50 years! I am privileged to have the responsibility of working with people’s greatest treasure – their children!
Watching a student’s pleasure as they achieve the goals we set is extremely rewarding. Seeing things through children’s eyes is a great way of staying grounded. Children are very honest and genuine and extremely malleable. As teachers we have the power to make or break! This is very serious and I stress this to all the Pedagogy students: fragile, handle with care!
It is wonderful to be a positive role model for these young people that are willing to expose themselves because I really care about them and am interested in them as a person, not just a student. What a treat to have taught long enough to have piano grandchildren!! Over the years I have encountered many children with learning difficulties or disabilities. My greatest joy has been seeing these individuals grasp the concepts and succeed!
It is my opinion that learning through discipline can be fun and exciting. The study of music develops character and valuable life skills. The student learns to take responsibility and persevere even when there is hard work involved. Achieving the goal is exhilarating and helps build self esteem. The study of music is one of the best gifts anyone could ever hope to receive!
I am delighted to be able to announce that both my daughter, Teresa, and my granddaughter, Jenica, are returning to work with “JAM”! We will now be able to offer violin and guitar besides all levels of piano and the related theoretical subjects. Teresa lives in Edmonton and will take the ‘flavour of JAM’ to her city. Jenica resides in Abbotsford and will be a second location locally. Please check out their biographies. The beauty of technology means we are no longer limited to students that live near……we can now teach around the globe and are looking forward to connecting with you!