Posted by Gerald J. on August 28, 1999 at 14:33:30:
In Reply to: Performance vs. Education posted by John Visel on August 25, 1999 at 21:58:47:
The better you are at performing, the more you will be asked to take on students and teach. Without some education courses you may be very badly equipped to teach and actually mess up those students. I think it would benefit the world more if you do get some courses in teaching. I've had many a graduate course taught by professors who never took an education course, and I learned more by reading the book than by being in class. Turned out in some that I was reading the book faster than the professor and had more inherent interest in the subject material. Its not standard practice for engineering professors to take education courses.
One may learn some teaching techniques in taking lessons, but only one viewpoint, not a good overview. I suspect uncooperative students take a whole different teaching technique than you or I, when we are out to learn. Its been proven that I can't teach, even in my fields. There's a chance that had I taken education courses somewhere along the way that I might have learned how to teach.
And if one turns out not quite BSO caliber, there's something to be qualified to teach, to have a better job than slinging fries, even if teaching isn't the desired line.
I observe that for every orchestra opening, there's 50 or more applicants. And generally no more than one hire, sometimes none hired. Which means there's a crowd of performance majors looking for work.
Gerald J.