What qualities and skills make a good 1-on-1 or small groups music teacher. Perhaps classroom teaching might be discussed too, but then you are trying to teacher people who might have no musical ability or desire to learn.
You may be permitted from mentioning a qualitication IF you have gained a certain skill directly from a course but please mention the skill first. I dont think I want to discuss what AB grade we all think a teacher should have- there is another thread for that.
Full Version: Teacher Qualities
I think there is a balancing act between being technically secure on your instrument and also have good communication skills.
If you can play all the Beethoven sonatas standing on your head, you are not necessarily going to be able to communicate "Row your Boat" to a seven-year-old.
The ability to be fair also and remember that pupils may have bad days/weeks and that this does not make them a bad person!
Being able to leave your own bad mood and problems at the door and focus on your pupils is very important.
Being open minded and flexible. While I don't enjoy certain types of music or certain things, some of my pupils might. Similarly while I know some things (scales!) where not taught to me in a fun way, it is my job to make them relevant to my pupils. Things like telling a little story about a composer etc when showing a child some music can make things come to life.
I can't think of any more off hand, but I think these are very important.
If you can play all the Beethoven sonatas standing on your head, you are not necessarily going to be able to communicate "Row your Boat" to a seven-year-old.
The ability to be fair also and remember that pupils may have bad days/weeks and that this does not make them a bad person!
Being able to leave your own bad mood and problems at the door and focus on your pupils is very important.
Being open minded and flexible. While I don't enjoy certain types of music or certain things, some of my pupils might. Similarly while I know some things (scales!) where not taught to me in a fun way, it is my job to make them relevant to my pupils. Things like telling a little story about a composer etc when showing a child some music can make things come to life.
I can't think of any more off hand, but I think these are very important.
If I may say so, MusicSong, you could be charged with being rather dictatorial and intolerant to those who might want to introduce additional perspectives to the line of questioning in your two (EDIT: three!) recent new threads. It's only human nature that these threads should go off on a tangent as everybody contributes their own views, and it's great fun to go with the flow!
Saying things like "this thread is not for qualifications talk" (underlined), "You may be permitted from mentioning a qualitication" (sic), "I don't think I want to discuss", "This is your dedicated thread", "...i will report it" (sic), "No qualifications talk allowed", "Go!", "...or I'll stop the thread" comes across as rather dictatorial to me, I must confess.
So, two qualities I would suggest important for teaching for starters are i, an ability to go with the flow and ii, a lack of a dictatorial nature!
Saying things like "this thread is not for qualifications talk" (underlined), "You may be permitted from mentioning a qualitication" (sic), "I don't think I want to discuss", "This is your dedicated thread", "...i will report it" (sic), "No qualifications talk allowed", "Go!", "...or I'll stop the thread" comes across as rather dictatorial to me, I must confess.
So, two qualities I would suggest important for teaching for starters are i, an ability to go with the flow and ii, a lack of a dictatorial nature!
QUOTE(pianodub @ Jun 25 2009, 04:44 PM) 
I think there is a balancing act between being technically secure on your instrument and also have good communication skills.
If you can play all the Beethoven sonatas standing on your head, you are not necessarily going to be able to communicate "Row your Boat" to a seven-year-old.
Very true. And the ability to swap quickly from one to another. Teaching one one momnt and the other the next. And the 7 year old who wants to lean a Beethoven sonata! Thank you for your reply.
Holz Gedeckt- I didnt want this thread to get stuck in what qualification a teacher should have. That is why i started another thread for a discussion on what qualifications a teacher should have otherwise it would get too confusing. Qualifications and qualities are two different things. I am sorry If you felt offended I have asked for them to be removed. I just followed the examples of the other posters here by putting boundaries on my discussion so that the topic I am investigating is discussed. I hope my edits reach your satisfaction, this is an interntional forum and people might not always speak in the same way, or mean things in the way that another person reads them.
QUOTE(dcmbarton @ Jun 25 2009, 05:13 PM)
I think that an ability to be creative is so important - the ability to be able to teach the same thing in 200 different ways - this obviously has to be coupled with an ability to think on one's feet. Obviously, sound knowledge of what you teach is essential, but also a realisation that not everyone know's everything and there is always more knowledge to be gained and skills to be developed.
I think that a real passion for the subject is important too - I think that being involved in music making outside of teaching is useful; after all, teaching shouldn't be isolated from music as a whole. We should be able to enthuse our pupils about music.
Otherwise, patience, sensitivity, enthusiasm and genuine committment are all important. The ability to relate to a wide cross-section of people from many different backgrounds is useful.
A very inciteful post too. You sound very passionate about your music and teaching
QUOTE(MusicSong @ Jun 25 2009, 05:51 PM)
I am sorry If you felt offended I have asked for them to be removed.
I've not felt offended in the slightest!
I just think you have to be careful when starting threads on subjects which have caused so much disagreement around here....
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