Nightmare teacher rant! Options

[katica]

I've been reading this thread with interest from the perspective of a very part-time teacher starting out (only one student and no plans for more in the short-term).

I took on a beginner student at the behest of my teacher and the director of our centre, with some trepidation as I am still definitely sub-Grade 8 myself. I do in fact completely agree with flobiano that to be successful a teacher needs to have BOTH teaching and instrument technical/performance skills as well as the self-awareness to pass on a student when they need a level of teaching beyond one's capacity to provide it.

I don't think this level is an absolute. In other words, because a teacher is at X level on an instrument and is at level Y in teaching skill and experience, s/he is OK teach up to Grade Z. The student's aspirations and potential are also a factor. I don't feel too bad about taking on a student for whom the oboe is a hobby and isn't too bothered about what level s/he reaches (though I hope always to encourage them towards more) but I'd think twice about taking on a student, even if the same early level, who wanted to become proficient. And with whatever level or type of beginner, I think the student has a right to expect someone with enough basic technical knowledge to be able to help them through their particular challenges.

I do worry about that.

In the end, I agreed to take on the beginner student because (a) while he has objectives they're not too ambitious so I'm not likely to thwart those by not being the best teacher he could get (b) he doesn't have any other feasible options right now, ? he is pretty well an absolute beginner and I (and) others think I can help him through the first stages, (d) I have the back-up support from my teacher and (e) I've been completely honest with him about what he's getting and he's fine with it. Also, neither he is paying nor I am getting paid in a kind of barter arrangement with the school (he is providing other services and I am getting other opportunities).

In those kind of circumstances, I trust I am not doing anything unethical. sbhoa's approach seems to be eminently applicable to my circumstances and I will take note.

I'm sorry that the OP's concerns raised some furore. As a novice teacher, I feel it's worth paying attention to parents' rants (very legitimate on the parents' forum!). I just hope I don't run into the kind of horrible situations that have occasioned equally legitimate teacher rants over on the teachers' forum.

[Ayshah]

Oh three of my children went to the Centre for Young Musicans - never really enjoyed it. One refused to go back after a negative remark was made about her 'cello, and the other 2 only did the summer courses. The last eventually joined LSSO, but hated the competitive set up. Here I will quote her: "full of teacher's pets" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)

Oh dear, as somebody who studied there for, oh, something like ten years, I have to say I'm very sorry to hear of somebody having a negative experience. I can sympathise with the instrument situation. I think that many teachers do not really understand that when a family is living on a tight budget (as most families are) it's unreasonable to expect them to pay, at least in the early stages, thousands of pounds for good instruments. This is a real problem for string players, where the difference between a cheap instrument and a more expensive instrument is so much more pronounced, in terms of price and quality of instrument, than I think it is for brass and woodwind (I know there are difference between instruments, but I know that I played a good basic clarinet that cost about ?200 that was perfectly decent for the purpose, whereas for a stringed instrument you are not going to get anything of decent quality for under ?1,000, and even now the only really good instrument I have is worth much more than that, and I only got it because a lovely man who played in the LSO gave my mother the wrong price for it and was so thoroughly decent as to let her have it at the cheaper price even though it was worth very much more). I have to say I didn't find the LSSO competitive, and I was certainly nothing like one of the best players in it. As I recall I ended up on the second to last desk in my section. I would be curious to know whether your daughter would have been in the LSSO in the period 1990-2001, which is when my former violin teacher was in charge. I think it would be fair to say that he made a very personal impression upon the orchestra, so I would not be wholly surprised to learn that it was a rather different entity before or after that period of time.

I am delighted that you enjoyed your time there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I like the set-up at CYM and have continued to recommend it to others. However once our own Borough music services invested seriously with their own music summer schools including residential ones and European tours CYM no longer was the "better" place to attend. In fact within a few years there were no children from the local comprehensive schools attending CYM. The Borough's music service is of a very high standard and was much more comfortable to attend on Saturdays. LSSO had a large contingent of children who attended CYM and therefore the teaching staff were familiar wth them and they always seem to get more attention and move to the front desks whilst the same teachers (it would seem) struggled to remember the "other" childrens names or music levels. when my no 1 daughter was at school at least half the senior orchestra were in LSSO, (Probably around the time you were there!). When No 3 daughter was there was only one other besides her from the senior orchestra was in the LSSO. The shift to the Local facilities was very noticeable. As she was playing her second instrument she was not in the least bothered to compete with those who only played one instrument. I am sure she was accepted because she was at jRAM, what they didnt know was that she was not playing the same instrument there. After two years she refused to go back for the re-auditon. My personal objections to LSSO was that it was elitist, appearing to "cream off" the best within London and not offerring music progression to all in the entry whereas the local Senior Orchestra, had no such audition for entry, merely recommendation from teacher and G7 standard and they certainly played to quite a high standard.

The remark regards my no 2 daughter's cello indicated that she was "wasting not only her time but the tutors time" and clearly her parents (us!) didnt know anything about music if we gave her such a rackety instrument! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) But the fall out was the other children with 'cellos mocked her and wouldnt even sit with her at the lunch break! How utterly thoughtless, and that was not the only occasion. I have already told you that my children had other personal issues to combat and that was clearly underlying most of there time their despite CYM/LSSO being a London Music Service. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Listener]

LSSO had a large contingent of children who attended CYM and therefore the teaching staff were familiar wth them and they always seem to get more attention and move to the front desks whilst the same teachers (it would seem) struggled to remember the "other" childrens names or music levels.

The tendency of music centre staff to favour pupils they know/tutor/teach is possibly widespread. We tended to move on, when that happened, if and when frustration set in. But I don't know that there's an answer. To have profiles of all students in an orchestra and liaise with teachers before assigning seats might help - but that's a lot of time (and =money) that no one has these days. For senior groups, though, auditioning should iron it out as long as auditions are fair...

The remark regards my no 2 daughter's cello indicated that she was "wasting not only her time but the tutors time" and clearly her parents (us!) didnt know anything about music if we gave her such a rackety instrument! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif) But the fall out was the other children with 'cellos mocked her and wouldnt even sit with her at the lunch break! How utterly thoughtless, and that was not the only occasion. I have already told you that my children had other personal issues to combat and that was clearly underlying most of there time their despite CYM/LSSO being a London Music Service. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

... whurrrrrrrrrrrrfffffffffffffff (smiley for breath knocked out?). Speechless.

[notmusimum]

The tendency of music centre staff to favour pupils they know/tutor/teach is possibly widespread. We tended to move on, when that happened, if and when frustration set in. But I don't know that there's an answer. To have profiles of all students in an orchestra and liaise with teachers before assigning seats might help - but that's a lot of time (and =money) that no one has these days. For senior groups, though, auditioning should iron it out as long as auditions are fair...

Sadly this is widespread in music and it's not only Music Centre staff. By enlarge I can't complain about our Music Service for that, some people were allowed ot mess about a bit too much but they didn't get extra opportunities, I do see it elsewhere. The who they know sydrome, and being prepared to use/be influenced by it, has caused our teacher dissatisfaction and the strained realtionship.