Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I think that there are some underlying principals that make good teachers good and bad teachers bad. I think that the best test of whether a teacher is a good teacher or a bad one is whether their students make progress or not. A bad teacher never seems to grasp this. So it becomes the job of the student to take inventory once in a while, perhaps once a year, and see if he/she is playing better now than a year ago. If not, in spite of the fact that the student has been trying, then the student needs to address this.
I think that there are some underlying principals that make good teachers good and bad teachers bad. I think that the best test of whether a teacher is a good teacher or a bad one is whether their students make progress or not. A bad teacher never seems to grasp this. So it becomes the job of the student to take inventory once in a while, perhaps once a year, and see if he/she is playing better now than a year ago. If not, in spite of the fact that the student has been trying, then the student needs to address this.
I think that there are some underlying principals that make good teachers good and bad teachers bad. I think that the best test of whether a teacher is a good teacher or a bad one is whether their students make progress or not. A bad teacher never seems to grasp this. So it becomes the job of the student to take inventory once in a while, perhaps once a year, and see if he/she is playing better now than a year ago. If not, in spite of the fact that the student has been trying, then the student needs to address this.
Amy- Do you mail a bill for the balance or just expect them to remember to pay on time? I find that people are in the habit of paying bills that come in the mail. If they don’t get a bill, they forget. Is that your experience?
I want to add here that I think it’s as important to identify the traits and characteristics of a bad teacher as much as it is to list the qualities of a good teacher. If this discussion is going to be of any use to students and teachers, both sides of the equation have to be openly discussed. Also, I didn’t mean to imply in my first post here that all bad teachers do all of the things listed there. But I think that the characteristics of a particular bad teacher can be found on that list.
To add one more trait to the discussion, a bad teacher can be either very domineering and controling, and maybe even mean, or can be a really very nice person who simply cannot teach.
I want to add here that I think it’s as important to identify the traits and characteristics of a bad teacher as much as it is to list the qualities of a good teacher. If this discussion is going to be of any use to students and teachers, both sides of the equation have to be openly discussed. Also, I didn’t mean to imply in my first post here that all bad teachers do all of the things listed there. But I think that the characteristics of a particular bad teacher can be found on that list.
To add one more trait to the discussion, a bad teacher can be either very domineering and controling, and maybe even mean, or can be a really very nice person who simply cannot teach.
I want to add here that I think it’s as important to identify the traits and characteristics of a bad teacher as much as it is to list the qualities of a good teacher. If this discussion is going to be of any use to students and teachers, both sides of the equation have to be openly discussed. Also, I didn’t mean to imply in my first post here that all bad teachers do all of the things listed there. But I think that the characteristics of a particular bad teacher can be found on that list.
To add one more trait to the discussion, a bad teacher can be either very domineering and controling, and maybe even mean, or can be a really very nice person who simply cannot teach.
Tacye- You bring up a good point, and that is that a good teacher at one level may not be a good teacher at another level. There are (only a few) teachers who are wonderful at polishing a technically advanced student, but are really not good at getting a student from the lower levels up to an advanced level. More often, there are teachers who are great at starting beginners but then don’t know what to do with them after that. The wise teacher is one who understands his/her limitations and will let go of the student when it is time to go on to a different kind of teacher.
A bad teacher will hold on to a student year after year, ignoring completely that this student is not learning anything, has not advanced at all, and is being seriously held back by the teacher.
Tacye- You bring up a good point, and that is that a good teacher at one level may not be a good teacher at another level. There are (only a few) teachers who are wonderful at polishing a technically advanced student, but are really not good at getting a student from the lower levels up to an advanced level. More often, there are teachers who are great at starting beginners but then don’t know what to do with them after that. The wise teacher is one who understands his/her limitations and will let go of the student when it is time to go on to a different kind of teacher.
A bad teacher will hold on to a student year after year, ignoring completely that this student is not learning anything, has not advanced at all, and is being seriously held back by the teacher.
Tacye- You bring up a good point, and that is that a good teacher at one level may not be a good teacher at another level. There are (only a few) teachers who are wonderful at polishing a technically advanced student, but are really not good at getting a student from the lower levels up to an advanced level. More often, there are teachers who are great at starting beginners but then don’t know what to do with them after that. The wise teacher is one who understands his/her limitations and will let go of the student when it is time to go on to a different kind of teacher.
A bad teacher will hold on to a student year after year, ignoring completely that this student is not learning anything, has not advanced at all, and is being seriously held back by the teacher.
College training is no guarantee. As an example, Jan Jennings never went to music school. But she had excellent training from a private teacher as she was growing up, and Jan is an excellent teacher of classical technique and repertoire. I think there is a fundamental ability to teach that is either there or not. I you have it, you can become a better teacher with experience. If you don’t, you’ll neveer be a good teacher. There’s a stellar example of that in Boston. But I won’t mention any names.
College training is no guarantee. As an example, Jan Jennings never went to music school. But she had excellent training from a private teacher as she was growing up, and Jan is an excellent teacher of classical technique and repertoire. I think there is a fundamental ability to teach that is either there or not. I you have it, you can become a better teacher with experience. If you don’t, you’ll neveer be a good teacher. There’s a stellar example of that in Boston. But I won’t mention any names.
College training is no guarantee. As an example, Jan Jennings never went to music school. But she had excellent training from a private teacher as she was growing up, and Jan is an excellent teacher of classical technique and repertoire. I think there is a fundamental ability to teach that is either there or not. I you have it, you can become a better teacher with experience. If you don’t, you’ll neveer be a good teacher. There’s a stellar example of that in Boston. But I won’t mention any names.
