Uh oh...i'm becomming a teacher

Re: Uh oh...

To Jeff, I've always thought of myself as a teacher. How does that "lesson plan" I sketched out sound?
 
Re: Uh oh...

To Jeff, I've always thought of myself as a teacher. How does that "lesson plan" I sketched out sound?

Your lesson plan seems to work well. The student is taught technique,basic note values and coordination.

I do tend structure mine a bit differently. I start the lesson on the snare drum where we work on reading and technique. Then we move to the drum set and apply the rhythms to the hands and feet.

If you are looking for a bit of friendly criticism, I think you may be moving a bit fast with the note values. If you look at most beginning methods, the student learns quarter notes first. They play whole, half, quarter, and notes and rests for a few pages before getting to eighths or sixteenths. Good books to look over are Vic Firth Snare Drum Method Book One and Primary Handbook for Snare Drum by Garwood Whaley (Book and CD.) Repetition is necessary in learning, so don't be afraid to stay on a note value for a little while. Just keep it interesting and have a positive attitude so they don't lose momentum.

For the drum set part of the lesson, you can still have the student play rock rhythms that are based on quarter notes in regular or half time. A half time feel as quarter notes is the same coordination as the basic eighth note rock feel.

But again, it is what works for you and what gets results. You may have some teaching methods that I could incorporate as well. That's the great thing about Drummerworld - even when people disagree about things, it's always with the intention of furthering each others drumming/teaching goals.

Jeff
 
Re: Uh oh...

Your lesson plan seems to work well. The student is taught technique,basic note values and coordination.

I do tend structure mine a bit differently. I start the lesson on the snare drum where we work on reading and technique. Then we move to the drum set and apply the rhythms to the hands and feet.

If you are looking for a bit of friendly criticism, I think you may be moving a bit fast with the note values. If you look at most beginning methods, the student learns quarter notes first. They play whole, half, quarter, and notes and rests for a few pages before getting to eighths or sixteenths. Good books to look over are Vic Firth Snare Drum Method Book One and Primary Handbook for Snare Drum by Garwood Whaley (Book and CD.) Repetition is necessary in learning, so don't be afraid to stay on a note value for a little while. Just keep it interesting and have a positive attitude so they don't lose momentum.

For the drum set part of the lesson, you can still have the student play rock rhythms that are based on quarter notes in regular or half time. A half time feel as quarter notes is the same coordination as the basic eighth note rock feel.

But again, it is what works for you and what gets results. You may have some teaching methods that I could incorporate as well. That's the great thing about Drummerworld - even when people disagree about things, it's always with the intention of furthering each others drumming/teaching goals.

Jeff
Thank you. Like I said, I've always thought that I could teach well. I want to start teaching informally (no payment and supplemental to school programs or another teacher).
 
Re: Uh oh...

You didn't ask; but I would venture to say that I structure my lesson much like you outlined. and added I do what the another poster suggested. I have them play first and read second. The challenge to teaching though, is not having an outline; but being able to make that outline work in the variety of situations that you may find yourself. You may have a students who are gifted intellectually, and on the other hand those who have learning difficulties. and each will have talents and challenges.

If you open up most lesson books, the opening page will have either a guide to how to hold a stick, or a guide to note values. So students are learning how to read as well as dealing with technical issues from day one. For me, I would have them play quarter notes and then show them what that looks like. Play a basic beat and then show them what it would look like. But I lay a lot of ground work from day one. The other day, I asked one of my students what I told him the first day. He looked at me and said do you really expect me to remember that. I said I told you to count and even the rest are important and this is why, three years down the line. For him, it was probably the most 'a ha' moment he had in a while. I am always laying the ground work so that when you introduce point 'd' it is not the first time they have seen it. When are you going to teach a rebound stroke, in lesson four, or prepping a proper fulcrum so that it happens naturally when you get to lesson four?
 
Re: Uh oh...

OP: Don't get discouraged. You may not have a lot of experience, but this is a perfect way to get some. I gave a few lessons off and on during high school, and it was a great primer that eventually led me to teaching band. I don't put a lot of stock in the idea that an inexperienced teacher will do more damage than good, and often let my high schoolers work with the younger kids.

A method book will be your best friend, as it will tell you EXACTLY what to do. Plan on going pretty slow, as 10-year-olds generally need a lot of repetition. Starting on snare might be a good idea, but if he'd already got a drum set, you might not be able to hold him back.

Hopefully he's part of the school band program, so his band teacher can support what you're doing.
 
Re: Uh oh...

OP: I don't put a lot of stock in the idea that an inexperienced teacher will do more damage than good, and often let my high schoolers work with the younger kids.

This is what Jeff has been saying, and that is that if you have a mentor that will make all the difference. You trust the kids working with younger students because you know they are under your care. They have a place to go with questions.

So if this young drummer would like to teach, it would be recommended that he have a good teacher to go to. And if he has a few students, if can help him pay for those lessons.
 
Re: Uh oh...

This is what Jeff has been saying, and that is that if you have a mentor that will make all the difference. You trust the kids working with younger students because you know they are under your care. They have a place to go with questions.

So if this young drummer would like to teach, it would be recommended that he have a good teacher to go to. And if he has a few students, if can help him pay for those lessons.

I do agree with this- the fifth graders take lessons from the high schooler, who takes lessons from the high school teacher, who studies with the college professor, who is still working on his doctorate... which is based on early band students. The circle continues.
 
Re: Uh oh...

alright so I'm seventeen and today my mother's friend's got a 10 year old drummer who's never taken lessons before that wants some lessons from me... he recently was bought a nice set to play on because he seemed to like drumming because he taps constantly. I should have asked if he was in the school ensemble, or if he even knows how to read music... but im guessing he has zero experience in actual drumming. Meaning he doesnt know how to read.

So, i've never taught anyone, and i was always the subject of teaching.... i've been playing since 3rd grade, so im pretty experienced, but i've never even thought about teaching a kid....so im kinda freakin out. I know hes only 10 but still, i hate letting people down.

So what the heck do i do?

p.s. and it should be a half hour lesson, and i dont know how many i'll end up giving...
To be perfectly honest, playing experience is irrelevant.

Youre both new to it - him as a student, you as a teacher - and in fact, younger kids require a more specific type of teacher.

Teaching anyone is the respoonsibility of a good COMMUNICATOR, not necessarily just a good player.

With respect, Id personally recommend him a teacher more specialized to deal with younger kids.
 
Re: Uh oh...

...and in fact, younger kids require a more specific type of teacher.

With respect, Id personally recommend him a teacher more specialized to deal with younger kids.

I disagree. In fact, I think younger students are more adaptable, versatile and able to cope with varying teaching styles. If you teach a drum student the wrong way to hold a drumstick, for example- After doing it wrong for an entire year, a sixth grader should only need a week or two to correct the mistake. After doing it wrong for a year, an adult would need months to fix the problem.

Why do you think that beginning teachers generally don't go into high school band jobs right out of school? Generally, they land in a assistant director position that involves a lot of beginning band, or they find a small school district that requires one person to teach all levels. Younger students are much LESS likely to be hurt by the inexperience of their teacher than older students. Furthermore, high school students can often be more impressive to a 10-year-old than a grown teacher and thus can make music that much more accessible.

To the OP: Just try to be prepared. Anticipate what you'd like to cover and HOW you'd like to cover it. Would you like to talk about it, demonstrate it, have him demonstrate it? All 3 are valid approaches to any topic, and sometimes you can used all three (or even more). Prepare more than you think you'll need, and don't be bent out of shape if you don't manage to cover all of it. Be ready to retread the same ground- it's part of the game.

If you are in high school band (and I hope you are), talk to your band director to get some more personal insight.

Good luck!
 
Re: Uh oh...

I think younger students are more adaptable, versatile and able to cope with varying teaching styles. If you teach a drum student the wrong way to hold a drumstick, for example- After doing it wrong for an entire year, a sixth grader should only need a week or two to correct the mistake. After doing it wrong for a year, an adult would need months to fix the problem.
I find this has more to do with the students practising schedule than their age.

Why do you think that beginning teachers generally don't go into high school band jobs right out of school?
To maximize job opportunity. High school band jobs attract the more experienced teacher.

The point I was making is that not all people are good communicators - especially when it comes to teaching young children. As flexible as young children can be with their learning, many of them are not going to absorb it without the lesson being structured in a particular way or connuicated to them in a means they understand. Younger kids also lose concentration more easily, so teachers often have to go in knowing how to tackle that side of things.

I found teaching in high school far easier than teaching a class of year 5 children (10 y/o) for exactly that reason. I knew the work I was teaching and I am a good communicator, but children require a totally different approach.
 
Re: Uh oh...

I disagree. In fact, I think younger students are more adaptable, versatile and able to cope with varying teaching styles. If you teach a drum student the wrong way to hold a drumstick, for example- After doing it wrong for an entire year, a sixth grader should only need a week or two to correct the mistake. After doing it wrong for a year, an adult would need months to fix the problem.

I think that is just the point. Why should anyone have to spend six months or a year with the wrong technique and then correct it? And it is not easy to correct bad technique even with a child. The kid has been reinforcing the technique now for a year. If the teacher had been refining his technique since day one, he would be one year advanced after one year, not starting over with a new stick grip.

Damien. Kids do need a special teacher because they still cry. :)
 
Re: Uh oh...

I think that is just the point. Why should anyone have to spend six months or a year with the wrong technique and then correct it? And it is not easy to correct bad technique even with a child. The kid has been reinforcing the technique now for a year. If the teacher had been refining his technique since day one, he would be one year advanced after one year, not starting over with a new stick grip.

Of course you want the younger kids to have the finest teacher possible. You also want the older students to have the finest teacher possible. Adults also want the finest teacher possible. Nobody is disputing that.

I'M just saying that younger kids can get a lot more from a poor or inexperienced teacher than an older student generally does.

Keep them playing, and the students will improve regardless of the teacher.
 
Music teaching is really about something that has nothing to do with notes. What I am concerned about is something that I grew up with and I see a lot in music teachers, a real inability to give realistic constructive feedback to a student. Last year, one of my ten year old students was going to competition. Two days before the competition, his music teacher tore apart his performance of the piece. He came home crying and his mother called me. I went over there and smoothed everything out. I could have smacked his teacher. I knew that there were some minor problems that I was having a rough time getting him to break. But he got a 28 out of 30 on the piece, and within two months, those bad habits were gone. Now if a credentialed music teacher with a master's degree is that clueless about teaching, what would a kid do. That is not to say that a talented kid would not have been a better role model for my young student.
 
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Music teaching is really about something that has nothing to do with notes. What I am concerned about is something that I grew up with and I see a lot in music teachers. I real inability to give realistic constructive feedback to a student. Last year, one of my ten year old students was going to competition. Two days before the competition, his music teacher tore apart his performance of the piece. He came home crying and his mother called me. I went over there and smoothed everything out. I could have smacked his teacher. I knew that there were some minor problems that I was having a rough time getting him to break. But he got a 28 out of 30 on the piece, and within two months, those bad habits were gone. Now if a credentialed music teacher with a master's degree is that clueless about teaching, what would a kid do. That is not to say that a talented kid would not have been a better role model for my young student.

You're good, Kenny.












...............
 
Music teaching is really about something that has nothing to do with notes. What I am concerned about is something that I grew up with and I see a lot in music teachers. I real inability to give realistic constructive feedback to a student. Last year, one of my ten year old students was going to competition. Two days before the competition, his music teacher tore apart his performance of the piece. He came home crying and his mother called me. I went over there and smoothed everything out. I could have smacked his teacher. I knew that there were some minor problems that I was having a rough time getting him to break. But he got a 28 out of 30 on the piece, and within two months, those bad habits were gone. Now if a credentialed music teacher with a master's degree is that clueless about teaching, what would a kid do. That is not to say that a talented kid would not have been a better role model for my young student.

I hate hearing stories like that. Why on earth do teachers subject themselves to constant abuse and low pay if they don't LOVE the students? I've had my fair share of teachers who knocked me flat on my back for the sake of knocking me down. In fact, I ran across one last year and sent him an email, educator to educator, letting him know how his negativity affected a specific student- me.

On the other side of the coin, I just caught up with one of my BEST teachers and sent him an email letting him know how some of the smallest things to him made such a HUGE deal to me- in this case, he let me play the timpani before any of my peers. As a drummer who had been confined to snare and bass for two years, I felt like he had enormous confidence in me, and I needed that as a seventh grader.

The bottom line is that students need teachers who care. I've learned a lot from teachers who are monster musicians but don't care about their students, but I TAKE AWAY a lot more from the teachers who love what they do and who they do it for.

Credentialed or not, the caring is what matters.
 
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