Author: sfalexi
Date: 2014-11-04 21:22
I think it's a combination of both. Also, include teaching styles in the equation.
There's no doubt that someone like Stanley Drucker would have done well no matter who the teacher. But let's assume there are 5 others he could have studied with that would have been as good as Russianoff. Then it was luck that Russianoff was the one he chose and stuck with. What if the teaching style had been incompatible with Drucker? Would've/could've/did Russianoff change his teaching style to accomodate the student? A more flexible teacher would more likely have better luck progressing students. Could another teacher out there have made the same progress with Drucker in a shorter time? Maybe.
I think teachers have to look a lot of factors. There's the "is this student worth it" component. You can take money from anyone on a weekly basis. But is it worth it if you could choose someone else to fill that time that is more compatible to your style of teaching or is willing to work harder and make more progress? Can you even teach that student in a manner that he/she will understand and progress? You can assign whatever page of whatever book you want, but can you COMMUNICATE effectively so that student UNDERSTANDS what the desired outcome is and how to get there? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It's not a bad thing, just maybe you're not the best fit for that student.
And what if Drucker had chosen ANY teacher and that teacher was horrible? Probably wouldn't have stayed.
So I think the teacher HAS to be a good teacher. That's step one. A bad teacher simply won't make it. There are many many teachers who can help a student progress. At that point, it's pretty much luck of the draw, and sticking it out enough to determine whether you can understand and effectively communicate with that teacher.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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The Clarinet BBoard
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