Good or Bad Teacher

[pat]

Dear all,

I have been learning the piano from my current teacher for around two months.  Her qualification and skillset are proved, as she can point out my problem of playing.  However, she always raises some irrelevant topics during the lessons, non-stop talking it until she wants to stop (sometimes reach 5 minutes). 

I feel very frustrated and uncomfortable with that cos' i) the tuition fee is already very expensive to me, around US$70/hr.  ii) one hour is very tight to a high grade student, esp. coping with the exam.  iii) I hope I can get as much knowledge as possible during the lesson, no matter it is a very sharp 1 hr, it must be well-utilized.

I already expressed my feeling directly to her at the very beginning.  The improvement could be seen for a while then remains the same.  I am in a dilemma to mention the problem because I am afraid that it will break our relationship, and she may get angry with me.  So, I try to think if I need to accept her teaching style?  or it is not suitable for me to follow her due to our different characters?

To be realistic, I am the payer, should I continue to pay when I don't feel satisfied with what I get? (I really found the progress is very slow for each lesson) But it is very difficult to find a good teacher.  I cannot comment whether she is good or not.  Could you give me some idea?

Pat

[quasimodo]

I sounds funny, though I know it's not at all for you.

Anyway if it's only 5 minutes in one hour AND if you feel that her teaching makes you improve and helps you reaching your goals, then if I were you, I would just let go. Try not to be upset with her chatting, be kind, take part to the off topic conversation. Then you will get closer as far as relationship is concerned and it will be easier for you to make her understand after chatting a while that she should come back to the teaching.

I mean the important thing is how efficient do you feel her teaching is for you. The rest might be irritating but not really harmful. Let's assume there is only 50 minutes of effective teaching in one hour, then consider you pay 70 bucks for 50 minutes of good teaching, which is better than paying 50 $ for two hours with an unefficient teacher.

And don't forget this : the best and maybe only way to build a great relationship (whatever kind of relationship) with a woman is to listen to her  . If she feels you care for her concerns then maybe, she will be more caring for you as well.

Now if you consider that the lessons are a total waste of time regardless of the off-topic talking, then find another teacher.

[dreamaurora]

I think each piano teacher has his or her own style of teaching that may not be understood the first few lessons. Like for example, I like to initiate a lot of musical conversations with my students, talk with them about music and great composers, let them listen to CDs or watch performance DVDs, talk to them about their family and friendship problems, etc. I staunchly believe any lesson should be as human as possible. Although some of my students did not understand at first at my method, expecting a more traditional and conservative approach, they soon adapt and begin to enjoy it. My point is, you may not realise that what your teacher is doing is actually good for you, but since you said shes a very good teacher, just hang around a bit longer, you will adapt to her style soon enough.

[m1469]

Dear all,

I have been learning the piano from my current teacher for around two months.  Her qualification and skillset are proved, as she can point out my problem of playing.  However, she always raises some irrelevant topics during the lessons, non-stop talking it until she wants to stop (sometimes reach 5 minutes). 

I feel very frustrated and uncomfortable with that cos' i) the tuition fee is already very expensive to me, around US$70/hr.  ii) one hour is very tight to a high grade student, esp. coping with the exam.  iii) I hope I can get as much knowledge as possible during the lesson, no matter it is a very sharp 1 hr, it must be well-utilized.

I already expressed my feeling directly to her at the very beginning.  The improvement could be seen for a while then remains the same.  I am in a dilemma to mention the problem because I am afraid that it will break our relationship, and she may get angry with me.  So, I try to think if I need to accept her teaching style?  or it is not suitable for me to follow her due to our different characters?

To be realistic, I am the payer, should I continue to pay when I don't feel satisfied with what I get? (I really found the progress is very slow for each lesson) But it is very difficult to find a good teacher.  I cannot comment whether she is good or not.  Could you give me some idea?

Pat

Okay, first of all I can very much empathize with you.  It can be very frustrating to be in a situation where you are unsure whether or not you are getting what you want.  But there are some things to consider here:

She may be doing this on purpose for these reasons that I can think of, and perhaps more that I cannot:

1)   To frustrate you

2)   To give you both a small mental break from hard and diligent work

3)   To explore your person and see how you operate to better understand how to help you as an individual

4)   To further develop a rapport with you, ideally aiding in your emotional trust in her and willingness to respond in your music and open up

5)   To confuse you

6)   To determine how serious you are about what you are doing together

7)   All of the above   


Anyway, one of the main things you need to determine is whether or not you are actually gaining and breaking ground.  You may never actually figure out exactly what is a teacher's approach  and frankly, I do not think this is your job, or even necessary.  Your job is to figure out YOUR approach to what you are doing with your music, and if this is becoming more evident to you through your lessons, then I would say they are worth the money.  However, if you determine beyond a doubt that you are wanting to approach things differently, then you may want to consider alternatives to what you are currently doing.  But you must be very smart about it.

m1469 Fox
 

[janice]

or MAYBE she is just one of those people who never shuts up!  Really!  Some people are like that.  I had a doctor who did that once (thankfully, he retired!).  It totally wasted my time.  Once I raised my hand like a kid would do in class (and he STILL kept talking for like 2 minutes!!) and I said "When you come down off of your soapbox I have a question".  LOL  (I still can't believe I said that, but at least he got a kick out of it!)

But I think the solution would be to gently guide her back on track.  When she starts chit-chatting about whatever, just raise your finger and politely interrupt her.  You  can even say "I don't mean to interrupt, but I have a question about......"  I have a friend who talks non-stop!!  Maybe this woman is just one of those people who is just plain old "nice and talkative".  So be assertive and get your money's worth!!

[pat]

Thank you very much for your precious comment.  I found this forum is really great.  All of you are willing to share with each others and give help that I appreciate very much

When she starts chit-chatting about whatever, just raise your finger and politely interrupt her. You can even say "I don't mean to interrupt, but I have a question about......"

Janice, my friends also suggest me to take the above action to deal with the talkative chat.  However, each time when I think that it were easy, it is not actually.  I don't have enough confident in front of her while she is also talking very politely.  It would bring an embarrasing atmosphere throughout the lesson....as I think.  How can I overcome this fear and just do it?

Pat