Klarinet Archive - Posting 000249.txt from 2002/07

From: "Robert S. Nalezinski" <nalezinski@-----.net>
Subj: RE: [kl] Teaching methods & treats
Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 05:18:07 -0400

I am not sure how much sense I will be able to convey here, but I
promise to try.

When I was a youngster so many years ago, like many children, I disliked
school. Dislike is too soft a word even. It bored me to tears. Being
stuck in class when I could be outside romping in the woods, looking for
frogs and basically exploring new areas I haven't been to before...
Much, much better than sitting in a classroom learning about something,
that as a child, I swore would never be of any use to me.

Needless to say my grades suffered. I never took notes, and I never did
homework. (It is rather hard to do homework when your climbing a tree.)
As with what Bill wrote, I agree that bribes can be viewed with
resentment, and a candy bar? They are not hard to come by... And I would
rather eat it in my favorite place out in the in woods to begin with.

What changed things for me was a fountain pen. Unlike in Europe, in the
states (at least in New England) they aren't commonly used. So seeing
one in a drug store intrigued me, and I purchased it. I found that I
liked the way it wrote much better than a ball-point pen. I liked
everything about it... the uniqueness of it, how the ink flowed, how
smoothly it wrote. I liked writing with it. I started taking notes in
class with it just to be able to write with it. Although I still
preferred climbing trees to home work, occasionally I would do home work
too.

Inspiration, motivation and desire I believe are the keys to teaching.
Teachers should learn from the student as the student learns from the
teacher. I firmly believe that all students have their own version of a
"fountain pen". Once a student is inspired to achieve, enjoys what they
are doing, their desire increases and things improve. Offering a candy
bar to a student after a lesson is nice, but is meaningless to an
underachiever who didn't want to be there in the first place. The key
is to motivate them so they want to be there, and that they don't want
to leave. Each student is different... Some require more work than
others... But I strongly believe that it can be done.

-----Original Message-----
From: William Wright [mailto:w8wright@-----.net]
Subject: [kl] Teaching methods & treats

I've been trying to put my finger on what bothers me about this topic.

If a student doesn't want to come to the lesson in the first place, then
probably a treat will be viewed as an attempt to bribe and will increase
the student's resentment.

But on the other hand, don't most of us enjoy (and even search out) a
treat or refreshment after a rigorous practice? Why not the student as
well?

So, when we discuss this topc, aren't we falsely combining two different
scenarios --- willing vs. unwilling student? In a private instruction
environment, there's always the need to move on because the next sudent
is (probably) waiting at the door. But perhaps the attitude --- as
opposed to the treat itself --- of "I'd enjoy socializing for a moment
while we recuperate from our hard work. Let's munch...." is a plus in
teaching?

Cheers,
Bill

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