myfunnybunch Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 We're not really there yet, because my ds l-o-v-e-s his teacher and so do I. She's rigorous and flexible and works well with students of all ages. Just curious.... Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 I'm not sure either.....I'm hoping I never get to that point. DS started out with an amazing (older, julliard trained) teacher who has been amazingly patient with him, sensitive to his personality in picking pieces, got him out of the method book as soon as he was ready (before level 3 of most methods), and is all around amazing. She requires all her students to work toward the certificate of merit exam each year, so there is a goal each year. She knows when to encourage, nag, yell, or spend all lesson on 3 measures :o). She is a master teacher, in that she has taught advanced level students, as well as other music teachers. I am blessed every week I get to listen in......if it's a good week....on bad weeks I'm sort of cringing in the other room...well laughing up my sleeve while I cringe for my poor ds getting reamed out for all the things I warned him he was going to get reamed out for :o). Icing on the cake.....she totally "gets" boys, SPD quirks and all, and spends lots of time finding not only music to fulfill CM and other festival/competition requirements but music that suits my son's personality. ds started when he was almost 8, and he is 14.5 now. So all that to say....there are definitely teachers out there that are experienced enough to take little boys and get them where they need to be musically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 absolutely agree. 100%. such teachers are worth their weight in gold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 So let my experience serve as cautionary tale. If you sense that it's time to move on, don't dither: Move on. Find a better teacher because no matter what the subject and no matter how good the student is, he or she cannot move past inadequate teaching. I couldn't agree more. We also waited 2 years too long in a situation that wasn't horrible, just had no real merit. The 3rd year with this teacher, dd lost motivation, because all the teacher could provide was a flat, "Good, next" response to anything she played. The final straw was when dd played a piece for her teacher that she had poured her heart and soul into, only to get the familiar, "Good, next." I'm sorry, there is so much more to music than that. Also, there was no communication. at. all. from the teacher. It took a full year before the teacher spoke the first word to me. I had no idea how the teacher thought dd was doing, so you can imagine my surprise when at her first recital, dd had "passed off" more than twice as many pieces as any other student, and won the outstanding student award. As it turned out, I was providing the majority of the teaching, even though my skills as a pianist are mediocre at best. Dd would show up at lesson, play the assigned pieces, get her new assignment, rinse and repeat. There was virtually no teaching done during her lesson. Unfortunately, we put ds with the same teacher. It took dh's observations at a recital to finally get me off center and make the switch, since I tend to be a get along, nonconfrontational person. I completely agree to go with your gut. If you sense your child is not getting the teaching he needs, don't be afraid to change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted October 22, 2010 Author Share Posted October 22, 2010 Excellent. This... a cohesive philosophy or pedagogy. And this.... if that piece wasn't a smoothly polished stone two weeks later. "Oh, that is so nice!" exclaimed Mrs. R. "I am so happy. But..." And more work. More tweaking. More attention to what the composer intended, what the musician must do to improve. ...really resonated with me. We have a "Mrs. R.", I think. Our Mrs. M is willing to be patient with a wiggly attention-challenged musically talented boy, to meet him where he is AND push...encourage...him to do more. Thank you. I suppose reading and hearing so often about students outgrowing that beginning teacher and the need to move on eventually had me wondering in the back of my head if this teacher, who started teaching my son when he was 4, is the best choice for him. I think the answer is yes. :) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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