Posted by Doug Whitten on December 18, 2003 at 09:14:57:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Teaching and reality posted by no name on December 18, 2003 at 04:01:20:
There is validity in what you are saying. It may well be a disservice to lead a mediocre student into a playing career when it is unlikely they will have the talent or work ethic to succeed. But these students wouldn't be the ones I encourage to study music performance. I have one student who is still in high school who really thinks he wants a performance career. He is talented and hard working and may be a good candidate for a performance program. I told him honestly that if performance is his dream, he needs to go to a conservatory or one of the few "big" tuba schools. Often, I see young students sure they want to major in performance until they see what they are getting into.
I think I am honest with my students about their playing. I rarely tell student that they suck, but I do tell them when they are not on track to meet their goals. At my university, and every other one with which I have been associated, there have been "check points" by a committe to evaluate whether the student is progressing adequately. For example, I had a student fail his junior barrier just yesterday. This kid, whom I think is a great person, just isn't a strong player and may be better served by changing his major. We try to weed out weak musicians before they become upperclassmen. Surely, other universities do the same.
Again, I was a performance major who never considered teaching. After a few positive teaching experiences as side work during graduate school, I found out that it is my calling. I had to jump all kinds of hoops to get certified. Retrospectively, I wish I had done education. There is no law that states that only Performance majors can practice 4+ hours a day. My experience is that better performers usually make better teachers (yes, there are exceptions).
-Good topic! Thanks.