先生と生徒の関係には難しいところがある。特に生徒が大人の場合にはさらに難しい。先生にも生徒にもそれぞれの立場がある。お互いに、先生は生徒を、生徒は先生を常に評価している。
The relationship between student and teacher can sometimes be rather sensitive and more so if the student is an adult. Both the student and the teacher have reasons for doing what they do. They often judge each other.
A student-teacher relationship can be difficult sometimes. And even more so if the student is already an adult. The student and the teacher both have reasons for doing what they do. They often end up judging each other.
生徒が先生に求めるものは、生徒にふさわしく、正しい演奏法を教え、早く上達させてほしいことである。
What the student expects of the teacher is a teaching style that is most suitable for the student while directing the student towards the correct playing style in the most effective way possible.
Students expect teachers to tailor their teaching style to match the student. They also expect to be taught the correct techniques and to improve fairly quickly.
ヴァイオリン教師にもその仕事をする理由があるはずだ。まず、生活のためである。経済的問題だけでなく、生徒を教えて、生徒の進歩していく過程が楽しく充実しているという喜びがあると思う。これが教師として面白いと感じているかもしれない。さらに、生徒が立派なヴァイオリニストになれば、先生自身の先生としての評価も得られることになる。
Violin teachers must have their reasons for teaching. First (and foremost), it is for their livelihood. However, it is not only for financial reasons but they must also gain a sense of joy and satisfaction through helping students improve. This must be one of the most attractive aspect of teaching. Moreover, if the student eventually becomes a professional violinist, the teacher himself will be recognized as his mentor.
Violin teachers probably have a lot of reasons for teaching. Of course, one is for his or her livelihood. But it’s not just [for] money. They must get a sense of joy and satisfaction when they see their students improve. This is probably what they find most interesting about teaching. In addition, if a student becomes a famous violinist, the teacher will get credit for it. (…for having taught him)
He works in finance for a living but he’s actually a really good athlete.
ヴァイオリンの先生だけでなく、仕事に就いている人のほとんどは、経済的な理由のみで仕事をしているわけではないことは当然のことである。
This applies not only to violin teachers: most people who work certainly do so not only for financial reasons.
This idea goes for other jobs too. Everyone needs to work for a living but that’s usually not the only reason for doing a particular job.
私も先生に求めたものは、私のヴァイオリン演奏技術が上達することである。つまり、先生にはヴァイオリンの先生としての教えることにおける真面目さを求めた。
I expected my teacher to help me improve technically. In other words, I wanted her to focus on teaching me.
言葉遣いとか礼儀正しいとか接し方が丁寧であるという意味の、真面目さではない。私を上達させようとしている意思を私に感じさせることができるかどうかである。
I wasn’t really interested in whether she would speak kindly to me or whether she would teach me in a gentle way. I wanted to feel that she was intent on helping me get better on the violin.
I wanted my teacher to help me get better on the violin. So I wanted her to focus on teaching, not on being kind or gentle. I wanted to get the feeling that she was trying her best to help me improve.
大人は子供より知識があり、生徒が先生より高齢の場合には、先生よりも人生経験があり先生の行動から先生の考えていることを想像することができ、私の場合では、意味のある指導かどうかを考えることができる。
Adults have more knowledge than children. If the student is older than the teacher, then he or she has had more experience in life so it is not difficult to grasp the teacher’s line of thought, and — in my case — see if the teaching is meaningful.
meaningful, worthwhile…
Adults know more than children. If you have a student who is older than the teacher, then he’s had [ = he has had] more life experience than the teacher so he can tell how meaningful the teaching style is.
先生は指示するときには、生徒にその指示にどんな意味があるのかを納得させなければならない。そして、大人は疑問があるときには納得するまで聞くことができ、先生は答えなければならない。子供に教える場合には、子供は疑問など持たずに素直に指示に従うことが多いと思われる。
When teaching, the teacher needs to convince the student why he or she needs to do something a certain way. Adults will ask until they are thoroughly convinced and the teacher has to answer until that happens. Children usually do not need much convincing and can accept what the teacher says without giving much thought as to why.
When you teach, you need to be able to convince the student why he needs to play a certain way. Adults ask a lot of questions until they are completely satisfied and the teacher has to keep on explaining until that happens. Kids, on the other hand, listen to whatever the teacher says so they usually don’t ask why.
私の先生は優しくて、言葉遣いも丁寧であり、音楽の話もできたが、レッスンでは、例えば、「大変良いです。お仕事もされてヴァイオリンも練習され、ご立派だと思います。」と言うように、褒めることが多く、私としては、私の弾き方のどこが良くないのか、を指摘して、どうすると良くなるかを教えてほしかったのである。生徒が自分の演奏に満足していないのに褒められてばかりいては意味がない。
My teacher was kind, spoke politely, and could talk about music in general. She would often compliment me and say, “it’s very good. It’s amazing that you have a full-time job and also practice the violin in your free time.” However, I wanted her to tell me what I was not doing correctly and how I can improve. It makes little sense to pay a lot of compliments to a student who is unsatisfied with his playing.
My teacher was nice, used very kind words, and would talk about music. She would often flatter me and say things like, “it’s good. It’s amazing that you have a full-time job and also practice the violin in your free time.” That was nice, but that wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I wanted her to tell me what I was doing wrong and to help me fix those things. It doesn’t make (much) sense to pay compliments to a student who knows he’s not playing well.
私のような20歳以上も年上の者に子供に教えるような教え方ができなかったのかもしれない。結局、先生のそのような教え方に、満足できなかった。
Perhaps, the more than 20 years of age difference between us made it difficult for her to teach me the way she would teach a child. In the end, I became frustrated with her way of teaching.
Maybe it was because I was more than 20 years older than her that she felt like she couldn’t teach me the way she would teach kids. In the end, I got frustrated with her way of teaching.
私がヴァイオリン教師に求めるものが大きかったのかもしれない。私の場合、趣味で始めただけで、当時すでに50歳を過ぎており、演奏家になる可能性はほとんどないと考えられ、先に述べた子供を教える場合の先生の利点はなく、教える場合には年長者に気を使うことが多かったのかもしれない。
It is possible that I was expecting far too much from my teacher. I started the violin just for fun, and I was already past 50 by then so there was virtually no possibility that I would ever be a performer. In contrast to the fulfillment she might gain from teaching a child, it’s conceivable that there was little to motivate my teacher in teaching an adult beginner.
I might have been expecting too much from my teacher. I was playing just for fun and was already past 50 when I began. There was no way I would ever be a performer so my teacher probably wasn’t able to gain much from teaching me as she might have from teaching a kid. It was probably also difficult for her to teach someone much older.
There was no way I would ever be a performer so my teacher probably gained much less from teaching me than she might have from teaching a kid.
失礼な話かもしれないが、どれだけ私が練習をしても先が見えていると思われたのかもしれない。そうでないとしても、残念ながら、そのように感じてしまった。将来性のある子供に教える場合と異なり、先生の教えるという情熱が少なくなってしまうことは理解できた。
Frankly, she may have thought that I would never improve much regardless of how much I practiced. Even if that were not true, I had an inkling that she may have been thinking that way. I could understand that she would feel less passionate about teaching me as opposed to teaching a promising child.
To put it bluntly, she probably thought that I would never get much better no matter how much I practiced. Even if that weren’t true, I still got that feeling. I could tell that she wasn’t very into teaching me. Of course, it’s much different from teaching a promising kid.
to be into something = 何かに熱中する
そのような折、インターネットでヴァイオリン教師のことを調べていたら、私の気を引く先生を見つけた。その先生はヴァイオリンを大人から始めたい人を主に教えている人で、名古屋でもレッスンを受けることができるという話であった。岐阜と名古屋は電車では30分もかからず、習いに行ける距離である。
It was then that I was searching online for a violin teacher in the area and found someone who caught my attention. This teacher specialized in teaching adult beginners and was offering lessons in Nagoya. From Gifu to Nagoya is only about 30 minutes by train so it is not an impossible distance.
Around that time, I was looking (around) online for a violin teacher in the area and found someone who caught my attention. He teaches a lot of adult beginners and was offering lessons in Nagoya. It’s only about 30 minutes by train from Gifu to Nagoya so it was totally doable.
この先生は、私と年齢が近い男性で、理論的に説明し、厳しく、できないことについて追求するタイプの人でした。毎回、良くないことを列挙し説明するだけでなく、さらにワープロで各生徒に医療のカルテのようなものを作り、レッスン毎に問題点を記載してくれるのである。生徒はレッスンの場で教えてもらったことを忘れてしまうこともあり、この方法は良いと思った。
This teacher is closer to me in age. He explains the theory behind his suggestions, is not lenient, and persistently goes after problems. He not only mentions the points that were not up to standard, he also types up lesson notes on his laptop each time and makes sure that his students do not forget what they have been told. I was impressed by his teaching style.
He is about my age, explains the why behind things, is direct, and doesn’t let things go. He talks about things that weren’t good, types them up on his laptop and gives us these lesson notes so that we don’t forget what we were told in lesson. I really liked this way of teaching.
生徒が大人であっても上達させようとする意思を感じさせる人で、著名な音楽大学の出身ではないけれど、ヴァイオリン演奏もでき、この分野の知識も豊富でヴァイオリン教師としては素晴らしい人であった。
He gives the impression that he is interested in every student’s progress even if the student is an adult beginner. Although he didn’t attend a famous conservatory, he plays well, knows a lot about music, and is a wonderful teacher.
He seems interested in his students’ progress even if they are adult beginners. He didn’t go to a famous music school, but he plays well, knows a lot about music, and is a great teacher.
私のような大人からヴァイオリンを始めた生徒が、名古屋には数名おり、月に1回または２回のレッスンを受け、私は現在まで約６年間、指導を受けている。余談であるが、私のレッスンがいつも最後であるが、レッスンが終わると、多くの場合、先生と他の生徒たちで飲食に出かけるが、共通の趣味を持った者ばかりで、この飲み会も楽しい時間である。
In Nagoya alone, he has several adult beginners. I take lessons once or twice a month and have been doing so for about six years. After my lessons, which is always the last, my teacher and his students often go out to eat. Because we have similar interests, these post-lesson gatherings are just as enjoyable.
He has a few adult beginners just in Nagoya. I’ve been taking lessons once or twice a month for about six years. My lessons are always the last of the day. Afterwards, he and his students go out to eat often. We have common interests so these post-lesson gatherings are also part of the fun.