Performance Anxiety

Author: Amanda Goodwin, ArtistCorps

The site at which I was serving was holding an end of the quarter recital. The students were all required to play something that they had been working on lately. Many of them felt comfortable with going up to perform for a minute or so but, in the 3rd grade class, there were two girls who were so scared that they started crying. I used this moment to comfort them, tissue box in hand, and tell them it was okay to be nervous. I told them that I get nervous while performing all the time. I helped them pick out pieces they were comfortable with, and rehearse them a little before they were asked to try again. In the end, they were both able to perform something and their classmates all clapped for them. It was wonderful to see kids facing their fears.