"Mission statements" and what parents want to hear ...

[m1469]

I am nabbing this post of xvimbi's (from listed thread) and using this as an example in this thread (I hope you don't mind, xvimbi).  I completely believe in and agree with this statement from my standpoint as a teacher and my thoughts on working with a teacher (me as the student) are in agreement with this as well.


https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,11168.msg126550.html#msg126550

Quote from: xvimbi on August 25, 2005, 11:57:45 AM

One has to understand and define correctly the role of a teacher. IMO, a teacher's role is not to sell information and teach because they have something to say (a teacher-oriented model). A teacher's role is to take on a student, to pay individual attention to him/her and teach him/her something despite the limitations of the student (a student-oriented model). They help a student to overcome those individual hurdles. Books and the Internet are inherently limited in that respect. Long live the teachers! ... and their students

As well as these words here from another post in the same thread :

ideally, student and teacher should form a "learning team", rather than a unidirectional "teacher -> student" hierarchy.

However,  I will be meeting with a new student and her parents quite soon and as I am looking to revise some of my paper work, I came up with a couple of questions which I am wondering if people have some answers to.

1.  Do you have a mission statement ?   (I can't remember if I have actually asked this before, but apparently I am asking again)

2.  In the example of xvimbi's text above, I wonder if this is something parents want to hear ? Or would they rather want to hear that "I am the teacher and your child is my student.  I will bestow my knowledge to your child."

I realize that a "mission" is a mission.  I have to be true to myself, but there is a bit of marketing involved for me right now.  There is something to presenting oneself well to others in a way that will evoke trust. 

I would love to know what you think 


m1469   

[pianoannie]

At the risk of sounding shallow, I will say that I don't think semantical differences like that make much difference, to the parent or to good teachers.

I don't care how someone words it....there are going to be times that I teach by what I say, others times by what I show, other times by how I draw something out of the child that he didn't know he could do, or by motivating the student to find a way to accomplish something currently out of reach.

The parent just wants to know that their child will end up learning to play piano----however it is that you accomplish that.

I do have a saying that I use to hold myself accountable for my part:  "If my student is not learning, then I can't call what I am doing with that child 'teaching.' "
annie

[pianistimo]

i think xvimbi and i are both correct.  a chef doesn't give away his secret recipies for free, architects don't give away their plans, and so on.  you pay for your education and you want to turn around and profit from it as well.

but, in agreement with xvimbi, too, because not everyone is taught in school how to be a TEACHER.  you are sometimes taught more knowledge (if you don't major in pedagogy) and have to learn (as he says) to adjust your teaching style to suit the student and not the other way around (them having to adjust to you).

to me, this is classier.  to really care for your students, how they feel about their music, and to have discussion and interaction with you and your other students.  to be a part of a bigger musical community than just a private teacher/student relationship.  

in advertising, or mission statement, i would say just that.  my mission is to help your child not only be a good pianist, but a good listener, a good performer, and someday, possibly a good teacher themselves.  many students don't realize that if they really pay attention, they are giving themselves  a much better summer job than the minimum wage jobs they have to drive to.  

[jasarthur]

Good thoughts from all. I have a list of questions parents should ask when "interviewing" a teacher. If parents want to know your  "mission statement," these questions will help bring it to the surface.

See https://88keys.8m.net/questions.html

[timothy42b]

Speaking as a parent, which I am <g>, if I don't see a mission statement from a piano teacher it doesn't distress me, because it isn't a field that traditionally develops them.

If I do see one, however, I immediately have the impression this is a teacher a step above.  This is someone who is professional enough to take the extra effort, at least somewhat knowledgable beyond the narrow world of piano, capable of thinking for herself, capable of communicating, probably open to new ideas.  There is almost no negative to a mission statement in marketing yourself.

The only exception would be if you produced something wacko that turned me off.  Something new-agey, something that suggested you don't have standards or everything is relative, etc. 

[jasarthur]

  "...thinking for herself..." ?

OUCH! That smarts.
Timothy: men also teach piano.

Jas.

https://88keys.8m.net

[leahcim]

"...thinking for herself..." ?

OUCH! That smarts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender-neutral_pronoun

2.  In the example of xvimbi's text above, I wonder if this is something parents want to hear ? Or would they rather want to hear that "I am the teacher and your child is my student.  I will bestow my knowledge to your child."

I don't think you can second guess them. There are many motives for sending a child to piano lessons, some good, some, imo, not so.

Unless you really want to get into that aspect of parental motivation [e.g you might tell a few of them that you'll teach them, not the child. Or give others a copy of Ted Kaczynski's points around #115] it's best not to - if the parents are misguided buffoons [like me] that doesn't necessarily mean the student will be [you've had experience with that anyway]

Just imagine the parent is reading on the internet what to ask, and you as the teacher are asking what to say. That's quite a funny scenario. You know how you teach [or intend to] - if that matches what Xvimbi's comments about what teachers "should" do then say it, otherwise there's not much point. If you do something else, say that instead.

Similary, if the parent doesn't know what questions to ask, they aren't going to know what the answers "should be" either - there's the "obvious" stuff about payment blah, blah. But there's no point them bluffing their way with general "What is your approach to technique?" type questions. A lot here might run away from a teacher that replied "Hanon" or "catholicism with a ruler" but how are they to know? Besides, others would recommend running towards.

[Folk do it at job interviews of course - but that's questions from HR departments for working within corporates - it'd be next to impossible not to tell them what they wanted to hear rather than the simple truth]

What Xvimbi says in your quote seems spot on though.

[jeremyjchilds]

I think that parents just want to hear that you as the teacher know yourself and your style enough to know what works, and have an actual plan. (instead of just winging it) Its funny, I almost think that a parent would rather hear something that they may disagree with (as long as it is supported well) than hear that the teacher will just "wing it"