I am in the process of redefining several things to myself with regard to teaching, and it dawns on me that perhaps the reality of teaching actually has very little do with ideals. What do you think? What practical role do you think a teacher's ideals play in the reality of students' learning?
Depends on who you teach. If I may speak for myself: I almost exclusively work with people that have to either 1) retrain or 2) prepare for exams, competitions, etc. but got stuck or have lost confidence. From my point of view, this is an ideal situation because those people are motivated, grateful, ready, especially if you can show them tricks of the trade that work right away to free up their blocked resources. In such an environment, there is plenty of room for idealism to and fro and good opportunity for learning for both student and teacher. I'm afraid the materials you quoted suffer too much from overgeneralisations.Paul
In such an environment, there is plenty of room for idealism to and fro and good opportunity for learning for both student and teacher. I
What kind of idealism?
EDIT:The kind of students p2u mentions pretty much always fit the bill for this situation to occur very easily, as he also said. They have learnt basics and have strong desire.
... not that I mind teaching someone how to read.. but when its an adult I immediately question their desire and start thinking about how I can fuel their desire because they could've googled note reading and learnt it for free.. (or at least tried to)
I'm a few years away from retiring from the state sector. I've grown to realize the vast majority of my students and colleagues are institutionalized. That is, they come to see me expecting me to do something. Instead of guiding ships on their journey I'm tugging them into port!
That actually is my point. Giving the student the basics is probably THE most important and hardest thing to do. It is seen as unimportant, teachers who do it are not seen in the same light as the ones doing "advanced" things, yet the most profound and important things happen right there.If by "reading" you mean learning the names of the notes on the staff by memorizing them in some way, yes that can be done on one's own. But reading music means to have a connection between the notes in the score and the piano keys plus their sound, and an association of the names which tie to both of these things. It is not an intellectual thing but something that combines the senses and is used in real time. There are ways of imparting these skills, which are not usually found on Google.
I've learned some different approaches. Memorizing is not the only way.
I have seen another way taught, so it is definitely not the "only way". I would hesitate to call anything an only way even for something in which I have expertise for 40 or 50 years, because it is impossible to know everything that has been done by every person on this planet.You have written about "calculating notes" - no such idea. Memorizing intellectually is not the only way. The memory or the association can be formed in different ways.
Again, there are different ways of doing it. I don't know what you mean anymore than you know what I mean. I am imagining that by "memorize" you mean intellectually trying to remember the names of spaces by studying the treble and bass clefs, then learning to "read" music from there, then associating those names with the keys on the piano which you have also had to memorize as names. That is the first approach I used. There are other ways which are more effective.
In other words, as usual we're talking past each other.
1. Did you start there?
2. If not, how did you get there?
3. Do you teach privately?
4. Does it pay your mortgage?
5. Can you see a marked change in your concept of ideal teaching and ideal student over the course of your career, or has it just remained exactly the same the entire time?
Now, I'm convinced one should dig tunnels from both sides, sometimes even going against the rules of standard educational principles.
Ok, you get a student with that spark. The student has never encountered a note of music, has never touched the instrument - well, with piano at least a sound can be produced without too much effort - he can't read since everything is new to him. Do you just go off on "ideas", bouncing them back and forth? What's the start in the very beginning? Your ideal student also needs an ideal teacher.