I always say that because I’m the family grocery-shopper, I’ve trained my eyes to not see 75% of the grocery store items – I know what I’m looking for and don’t look at most of the rest. It’s an important skill to build if you want to get into and out of the store in a reasonable amount of time.
But when the grocery store rearranges shelves, or I shop in a different store, I see everything with fresh eyes. That can be bad – it takes longer to get my shopping done! – but it can also be good, since it lets me see things I normally wouldn’t see.
It’s a state of heightened awareness – the same fresh eyes that you have when you’re in a new city for the first time, or navigating an unfamiliar route home. You have fresh eyes when someone walks into your house for the first time, or just when you’re on a break at home and do your routines at a different time of day.
I think that the same can be true for our students as they transition and grow in choral rehearsals. Fresh eyes are lovely, but they are not our default state. Can you learn to recognize fresh eyes in your students and capitalize on them – delivering insights and knowledge to them at the moments they are most primed to “see” them?