Please share your thoughts and experiences of teaching...

[Gorilla Tuba]

The area that I am continually trying to improve in my teaching is having clear goals and expectations. Just getting better is not a clear goal.

Finding the right mix of providing a challenge while making the challenge attainable is the key to continued improvement and high morale.

Giving honest criticism is also important. Again, finding the balance of positive encouragement while not falsely praising the student should be the goal.

When I first started teaching I took a very "constructivist" approach. As I have matured as a teacher (and I still have a way to go), I have found that I am much more standardized in my approach. It is important to treat students as individuals and realize they each have their own special needs. However, standardized methods don't seem to be the demon that all my cognitive development courses proclaimed. I think this bring me back to my initial statement: The key to success is having goals.

[JayW]

Hmm, here is my shot at trying to answer your questions:

1) I started teaching when I was a freshman in college (local HS students)
2) I don't believe I made "huge mistakes" , however looking back there were things I wish I knew, or knew how to bring out in a lesson. But I also like to think I was smart in that I started out slow, and rather than teach over my head, simply offered what I could to those students. With some pretty good results.
3) The only wisdom is to enjoy yourself. A teacher once told me that when you are teaching students their is an automatic assumption that you carry a greater knowledge than they do, regardless if this is true it is your job to make it a reality. Because of the role as "Teacher" I think you will be surprised by how natural it will feel, if it doesnt feel that way then maybe you need to stop for a sec. and look back at the whole thing.

As for taking lessons:
1) I have had the fortune of working with some incredible tubists, they have each had something in their teaching that has really helped me improve as a musician. I don't know however that i can pinpoint one specific example of something they do that I like with taking a page or so to write it....all I can say is that I always felt good after a lesson. Not meaning I didnt have times where they would come down on me for not having practiced as much, or because i forgot to look at a certain piece, etc.... But I always came away with something that made me want to go into the practice room and work.
2) Believe it or not I do not have anything I can say that I have hated about any of them.... other than maybe a personal difference on sports teams, or fav. rock band.



Just make sure you go into it as prepared as you can be and I think you will find the experience very satisfying....However some people just don't as Bloke pointed out. Nothing wrong with that either....the only thing you should not do is "try to teach when you do not enjoy doing so" because then it will make for some "bad lesson" stories.

Best of luck!!!!!!

[Chuck Jackson]

I will chime in hear for what it's worth. I never really dabbled in private teaching until I got into the military. I found that kids weren't willing to make the necessary sacrifices to progress. Even back in the 80's when there were alot less distractions, kids wanted the results NOW and weren't willing to work beyond what they felt was a reasonable time to become the next Roger Bobo, but I digress.

From 1986 until 1989 I taught tuba at the Armed Forces School of Music. The biggest advantage was that I had, literally, a captive audience. Nothing motivates a kid more than knowing that if they didn't do what I asked and didn't achieve the goals set out for them, they had two choices 1. Become a cook or 2. Become a laundry/bath specialist, neither job being the pinnacle of human endeavor. And those were the good jobs in the Army. The wash outs in the Navy and Marines had one choice, Marines:Rifleman and Navy:Botswains Mate. I'll let you imagination run on those jobs.

This allowed me to try lots of different things to help students succeed. Although I was working within a narrowly defined framework of achievement(the skills necessary to become a tuba player in the military weren't all that stringent) I knew from the beginning that I needed to have a 6 month vision for each student that required me to plan well in advance and stick as close as possible to that plan. However, flexibility is the key. For every great idea I thought I had, I had to find 10 different ways of saying it and only a couple of those ideas and their inherent explanations worked for more than one student. It was a constant struggle to find the right way to say the same thing to 30 different students so that all of them achieved the same result. Mind you, I had some stupendous players and kids who couldn't pick a tuba out of a room full of cats on the third try. This achievement worked both ways, you progressed as fast as you wanted to. Good kids were gravy, the sky was the limit. The poor kids were a struggle, you had to take them to square one and build your product. Never underestimate or overestimate your students. Watch them progress for a while before trying to push them beyond their assumed capabilities. That's when the fun starts.

I encourage you to get to know your students and to give them a simple test of their personal learning style. If you know if a kid is a auditory, visual, or hands-on learner, your job will be so much easier. At that point you tailor your information to the students strengths and learning will rise exponentially. And be patient, you may say the same thing for 2 years, think the student is dumber than a box full of dead monkeys, but all the sudden the student will "get it" and you're the hero.

Lastly, you will learn more about yourself as you teach others. Make sure to be reflective in your teaching and change those things that hinder the communication between you and your student. And there is no shame in admitting defeat. Some kids won't learn for/with you no matter how hard you try. Let them go and look ahead.

I taught 135 tuba players over a 3 1/2 year span and graduated 127 of them. It was the hardest and most rewarding job I have ever had. Since then, I have not taught a private lesson and never will again. You end up giving away alot of your soul. Good luck, you are doing the Lord's work.

Chuck

[WoodSheddin]

Gave it a stab. Hated it. Not nearly enough patience.

[kontrabass]

kids who couldn't pick a tuba out of a room full of cats on the third try

the student is dumber than a box full of dead monkeys

Something tells me I would have enjoyed studying with you...