The Relationship between Student and Teacher
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.
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.
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.
This applies not only to violin teachers:
most people who work certainly do so not only for financial reasons.
I expected my teacher to help me improve technically.
In other words, I wanted her to focus on teaching me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
I expected my teacher to help me improve technically.
In other words, I wanted her to focus on teaching me.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
He works in finance for a living but he’s actually a really good athlete.
meaningful, worthwhile… to be into something = 何かに熱中する