I don't entirely agree or disagree with Dr. Suzuki's philosophy. I do believe that pretty much anyone can achieve a high level of playing if they work hard enough. However, I think that anyone who has taught a significant number of students would agree that some students just seem to "get it" more easily than others, regardless of the amount of practicing they do. I have a self-professed (parent confirmed) non practicer in my studio who has been able to progress almost effortlessly to the middle of Suzuki violin book 2 with pretty much zero practice outside of our lessons (she might practice perhaps for 20 minutes one day every other week). I have another student who has made similar progress with about one hour of practice per week. I also have a student who practices about two hours each week who has struggled much more than the above students to get to the same level in about the same amount of time. These students are all approximately the same age and started their studies in very similar school programs as more or less the same time (with 2 in the same program). None of their parents are musicians or particularly involved in music or in their children's practice. So how do you explain the differences in their progress vs. practice? If I had just the latter two, one could argue that one practices more effectively and efficiently than the other, but how do you explain the non-practicing student?
I think in some ways we do students a disservice by equating more practice exactly with more progress. Does more practice generally lead to faster and better progress? Absolutely. However, some students will inevitably progress faster than others with the same amount (or less) of practicing.
While I would never put a limit on student achievement, I do think that acknowledging the fact that some students naturally learn things faster than others can actually make students feel better about their progress. When students express frustration about their rate of progress relative to other students I acknowledge that some things come more naturally to some students, I also let them know that in most cases, with enough hard work, they can achieve just as much as their more naturally "talented" classmate.
While I would never put a limit on student achievement, I do think that acknowledging the fact that some students naturally learn things faster than others can actually make students feel better about their progress. When students express frustration about their rate of progress relative to other students I acknowledge that some things come more naturally to some students, I also let them know that in most cases, with enough hard work, they can achieve just as much as their more naturally "talented" classmate.