Sine Qua Non is one of my favorite Latin expressions – it literally means, “Without which, nothing.” You don’t see it so much anymore – the decline and fall of Latin language classes has seen to that – but it’s a nice one to have in your pocket. Maybe the best English term is “deal breaker” but there’s more negativity in “deal breaker” than in sine qua non, so I’ll stick with the Latin.
I can’t think of just one sine qua non that informs my teaching philosophy in the rehearsal space, so I’m doing a series of them for the next week or so. For each of these, I consider my rehearsal a failure if I do not honor them.
Second Chances
I believe without question that educational environments should be about second chances. And third chances. And fourth. It’s when we feel the freedom to make mistakes, to fall down and learn through the fall, that we grow most consistently. It’s up to me as a teacher, interested above all in my students’ growth, to offer those second chances.
Note that they don’t come without consequences. For a second chance at an assignment or a test, the extra studying or rewriting of an essay might be enough of a consequence. If you miss too many rehearsals, you may not perform on the next concert. That doesn’t mean you aren’t getting your second chance, it means you’re earning your second chance through shouldering the consequences of your fall.
But whatever happens, I’m going to work incredibly hard to find ways to offer second chances in my choral environments.
Without second chances, nothing. Sine Qua non.