I am an adult learner who took up the violin just before my 50th birthday. Have always played piano in the past since the age of 7. I took my first violin exam (Grade 2) at the beginning of November and have just had the result. I managed to get a Distinction so was over the moon. When I told my teacher she immediately burst my bubble of euphoria by saying that "maybe the examiner was sympathetic with me because I was an adult learner". After this comment I was rather upset, annoyed and deflated. I thought we should all be encouraged as adult learners.



Alto

Examiners do tend to be sympathetic with adult learners in terms of understanding that they tend to be very nervous, attempting to put them at ease and so on. But the marking should still be entirely objective.

So even a sympathetic examiner wouldn't give you a distinction if you didn't deserve one.

T.

I'm really quite offended by this on your behalf!

I don't think that the fact that you're an adult learner will have had anything to do with your result. As Teigr said, the marking should be entirely objective.

You should be congratulated for (a) actually going in for the exam in the first place - as an adult learner I know how difficult it can be and (b) for getting a distinction - that is just brilliant and will have been very well deserved!

Maybe she was having a bad day?

So, advice is, ignore her - you have done brilliantly well and as she wasn't in the exam room she cannot possibly know how you performed and is therefore not in a position to pass a comment like that.

Congratulations on the distinction! Perhaps you should ask your teacher what she meant by this comment? If she is one of those teachers who think adult learners can't succeed, perhaps you should think about changing to one with a more positive attitude. But you seem to be doing fine with her, even if her attitude is wrong.

I wouldn't personally want a teacher who said things like that.

I don't think that examiners treat adult pupils and different at all.

David

A Distinction is brilliant - well done! Maybe your teacher was having an off-day, as someone said. I don't want to criticise, but a teacher should be thrilled for you, not deflate you like that.

Make sure you share your good news with family/friends/colleagues and celebrate appropriately with them.

I am an adult learner and I would be really offended by this comment!! Examiners are not generous towards adults in this way!! I have had some distinctions and some merits as an adult... the merits were when my nerves got the better of me... but the marks have always been fair.


The comment reminded me of a comment my daughter's flute teacher made. Since transferring to her new teacher (in Sep 2006) my daughter has taken 2 exams... and got 130 in both. Her teacher's comment was "Well... you've managed to SCRAPE a distinction again." I was a little offended at that comment on my daughter's behalf then too!!!!!

Well done... you've done really well. I've heard others say examiners can be harder on adults!!!

I've had an even wider spread of results in exams taken as an adult, ranging from barely scraped pass (104) to comfortable distinction (143). The results have always been a fair reflection of the work I put in, the circumstances on the day and what I delivered in the exam room.

The examiner's job is to provide a fair and objective assessment, regardless of how old you are, what instrument you play (they can't possibly like them all to exactly the same extent), what you wear, what you look like, what accent you speak with, etc.
They're marking you according to what they hear, not according to whether they feel sorry for you or think your recorder is a funny colour or how much they like the composer of your list A piece.

T.

Congratulations on the distinction, Alto.

The idea that adults get preferential treatment is utter bunkum. You got that result fair and square.

Proof that adult learners don't get marks for pity: my mum failed by one mark in her G6 exam. If the examiner was being sympathetic, he would have her the one extra mark.

I'm sure you were! Imagine only scraping a distinction eh?! What a catasrophe

When the first ever pupil I entered got a high merit, I couldn't stop smiling all day...

The comment made by the teacher here was thoughtless, I think. I seriously doubt that being an adult would have affected the way you were treated by the examiner in his marking.

What a daft thing for your teacher to say. Try not to let it spoil your achievement. Congratulations on your Distinction

Well done - an excellent result, and one your teacher should be proud of too. Examiners certainly don't give any sympathy marks to adults!

Examiners do know that adult learners tend to be more stressed during exams, but they have to follow the criteria set down for them when marking. In fact, adults also tend to push themselves harder than kids do, and have higher expectations of themselves - and so do others. There have been so many occasions on which adult learners have felt they were needing to justify themselves to others - we've often seen posts on here describing this - people ask adult learners why they get music lessons, and aren't in the slightest bit impressed if they do well in an exam. If anything, the culture goes against adults doing well, not for them; I remember being thrilled to bits at getting my grade 7 exam with a distinction (just!) - and the examiner failed me on scales, because that's what they deserved....I've also taken part in a competitive festival, and my adjudicator pulled my performance to pieces, then awarded me the winner's medal, saying she supposed it had to go to the person who was probably the most experienced - it later transpired that the kids competing had had about seven years' lessons to my four .

Many congratulations on your mark - you will have earned it, fair and square .

Firstly sincere congratulations on your Distinction, I think thats a wonderful achievement, contray to what your teacher might think I sincerely doubt that examiners hand out distinctions ad lib and willy nilly.

As for your teachers comment about the sympathy vote...what can be said other than it was unkind, unessacery and ill timed...whats the old saying? if you have nothing nice to say then its best to say nothing. Your teacher shows a remarkable lack of experience in life to make a comment like that, it is at best immature and stupid and if it were my teacher I think I would find another and vote with my feet making it quite plain why I was leaving. How your teacher can take your hard earned money then allow themselves to be so unprofessional and frankly insulting is completely beyond me...your teacher should be ECSTATIC that you did so well. Personally I would have this out with them and let them know that you do not appreciate their thoughtless comment. I think any criticism of your exam result is tantemount to impertinence. You can tell I am utterly incensed on your behalf.

Rant over...well done you,

Kindest regards

Andrew

How cruel and insensitive. A teacher with your best wishes at heart could NEVER say such a thing. It shows an unconscious desire to keep you down, rather than help you achieve the best that you can. It is like those textbooks that are not really bothered about helping you learn the subject. Their true purpose is to demonstrate how much smarter the author is than you could ever be.

If you got a DIstinction then it was on merit. Those examiners are mean SOBs They don't make allowances - except maybe if they are feeling really kind, and sense that you can actually play quite well, they will let you start again after a flub, and ignore the first disaster.

Perhaps you are the sort of player that gives their best under pressure/stress, and played better in the exam than you have ever played for your teacher? If so - what a fantastic ability for a musician to have!

Congratulations.

Maybe you ought to clear the air by giving her a poke in the eye! Congratulations on your distinction. Examiners may well be slightly more sympathetic to adult learners, but only to the extent that they probably won't fail you if you're close to passing. They're not going to give you a distinction because they're nice. DON'T send her a Christmas card!!

What is your teacher like normally? Is she usually encouraging/positive? If so, could it just be that she slipped up and said something stupid, without thinking...

It could be that, based on your last lesson she thought you were heading for a merit., but you've done better than expected. Instead of congratulating you wowing the examiner in the exam (a few nerves can actually be good, after all) she's just made a stupid comment, she doesn't even mean. Not everyone is socially-skilled and it may have just 'come out wrong.'

Why not tell her how her comment made you feel and ask her what she meant by it? If she's a decent sort, she'll probably be mortified and buck up her ideas.

However, it may be that she's not very encouraging and therefore not the right teacher for you. I'd try and look at it within the context of what she's usually like. If this isn't the first time/reflects her general approach, maybe you need to look for another teacher.

I've just started lessons again after a 15 year break. It's only now, looking back, I can see how awful my childhood piano teacher was. When I got a distinction in my grade 1, having been learning just a few terms, she just said 'You got 132 but I don't want you to rest on your laurels...'And that was it! I later learned that she was always praising me up to her other piano students and saying they should take a leaf out of my book etc, but she never ever praised me. So I switched off. My new teacher is much better and I'm learning loads, but again she doesn't really praise so I'm thinking of changing. Now I'm big and grown up and understand more about what helps me learn, I know I need lots of praise. I'm taking an exam in the spring and will reassess then. It's so important to get the right teacher, especially as an adult.

I immediately felt sympathy for you when I read your post. I once had a clutch of distinction marks for my pupils just after I suffered a family tragedy (I think my pupils worked extra hard for me that session as well!) I was mortified when a teacher 'friend' of the family came round to see us and I told her about the results. Her immediate reaction was 'oh - I heard the examiner was extremely generous in the last session'. This happened nearly nine years ago and I have not forgotten the hurt feelings her comment left behind. It was a slight to my teaching as well as to the efforts and achievement of my pupils.

I wish I had remembered to say at the time - 'actually the results were from two different centres so that must have meant there were two extremely generous examiners then!!)

Well done on fabulous exam result - teacher's comment is nasty and ill timed!

Hear, hear!
I am sure this has been asked in one of the "ask the Chief Examiner" or similar threads, and the answer was that the criteria for marking were the same regardless of age, gender, etc. etc.

Don't let anyone take away you sense of achievement.

Well done, you've done extremely well! In my experience, adults don't get distinctions very easily - not because they're not good enough, but they do often find it hard to really do themselves justice on the day. Examiners are certainly not easier on adults, especially where distinctions are involved.

I have occasionally been quite surprised when a student has got a distinction (but never in the case of an adult), but I would never let them know. I would always let them enjoy & benefit from the boost it usually gives to their confidence. I hope your excellent result will give you a boost - please don't be put off by this teacher's negative remark.

Very well done on your Distinction.

According to the Chief Examiner, adults and children are marked according to their performance, not their age.
I'd be very interested to know why your teacher spewed out such a negative comment. It appears unprofessional but maybe she could explain the context of her comment.

All the best. I hope you're still celebrating, I would be if I had a distinction!

G

Congratulations. You deserved your Distinction. No one gets Distinction without deserving it.
Take no notice of your teacher's silly comment.

Many congratulations on achieving a distinction! You obviously deserved it.

Your teachers comment was insensitive, perhaps downright stupid, I'd certainly be thinking of changing

Congratulations on your result. Yes, examiners are trained to have a good exam manner with adults since they may be nervous, but they're not allowed to give any more marks. I know this is a little controversial but I actually will put forward my conflicting theory here anyway. I actually think it's children who are more likely to get leniency than adults. We see this all the time on the forum when some 8 year old makes a horrible mash of a piece on youtube and good musicians stand up here and say how much they love the performance. The truth is if an adult made that performance they'd slate it (we see adult performances of similar quality that do get slated). Examiners are trained to try and mark equally, but they're also human, and I think if anyone it's the younger children who are more likely to get allowances made for them than adult learners. It's natural human instinct to expect more from adults, even though it's unfair to do so when they've only had equal experience; it's also natural to be wowed by a child doing something that looks 'adult'. So I'd think the opposite of what your teacher said is true. Keep your head up, a distinction is a great result, and something you've certainly earnt and can be justifiably proud of.

Well done! I hope you have gone out and bought a nice bottle of bubbly to celebrate - that's what I did when I passed Grade 2 Flute, and that was only a Merit, not a Distinction. But it was one of the proudest moments of my life!

And I have also had a teacher who has specialised in the unthinking put-down. My lessons always felt like a rewrite of the old song Home on the Range, 'where seldom is heard an encouraging word'... I once asked my teacher if she ever reduced her pupils to tears, and she agreed that she did, on occasion, do just that...

I've changed teacher at long last, and am feeling excited about playing again. Don't let anyone diminish your achievement, and think seriously about changing to a teacher who can celebrate the milestones with you.

Well done Alto - that's a fab result - and you deserve to go and celebrate!

My teacher did not 'deflate me' like that when I got my distinction through for my grade 1, but I still asked him:
'Tell me honestly and truthfully...when I told you I wanted to enter for grade 1, did you think I could get a distinction or did you think I can 'pass'?'
he said to me: 'I knew you could get a distinction, when I enter people for exams I always know they can get a good mark'
now, if he lied I don't know, I asked him to be honest with me.

Maybe you could do the same with your teacher? It might reveal more about what she thinks of you?
or maybe it could give you results you don't want to hear?
I'll leave it up to you

Thank you everyone for your encouraging comments. You have all helped to get the "good feeling" back again.

I feel the most help for preparation for my exam came from my accompanist who I met with on a regular basis to go through my pieces with me. My teacher hardly did them with me at all only about two weeks before my exam. My accompanist is a very good pianist and has a good ear for intonnation etc. and she gave me plenty of help, advice and encouragement along the way. My teacher wants to see my mark form at my next lesson so it will be interesting to see what she has to say when she reads the examiner's comments.

If anything, I've found examiners to be tougher on the exam marking of some of my adult students, than they have on the youngsters!!

A matter of personal opinion, but even though the marking is supposed to be consistent, each examiner is an individual with their own emphathies, personalities and opinion of what they deem good or average. I'm sure a number of them also have higher expectations of adult candidates, especially in the lower grades.

I've decided I don't like your teacher and that she must be very sad if she can't be happy when one of her own pupils has achieved a distinction. Even if examiners are sympathetic towards adults, I don't think they are going to think "Well, really I think you just about scraped a pass but because you're an adult who needs my sympathy, I think I will give you a distinction". Could it be that when your teacher was at the same level as you, she did not do so well. Congratulations on your excellent result. Be happy for yourself even if your teacher doesn't appear to be happy.

Glad to hear you did so well. Take no notice. You played it well and deserve the mark.
Bev.

Thanks again everyone! Your comments are much appreciated.

It's funny I was thinking about that earlier when looking through my old exam certificates. One of my pupils recently got a higher mark in her grade 2 than I did at the same age

I'm more than happy that I was able to help someone else acheive it though

Good gracious ! I would be very very upset if my teacher said that to me, mind no fear of that.

Well done! Maybe ask her to explain or think about changing teacher if you have more in your area.

Get a new teacher.

It's all right Phil I would never burst your bubble. I'm not that sort of teacher!

Even if a pupil gets 100, I praise what they get right before "looking at where they can improve".

The hardest situation to handle is when a pupil fails. You've got to go through that marksheet and find all the positives, then look at the others as areas where there is room for improvement. A photocopied marksheet and a highlighter pen are useful tools for this. Highlight all the positives.