Turning the tables on the teachers

[christina]

I've often heard people talk about what they look for in a teacher - whether it is for a private, workshop, or group class.

I've also heard teachers ask what people want to learn or get out of a private/workshop/group class (See Arjay's thread (http://westiewire.com/forum/showthread.php?t=109)about what types of workshops we want to take).

I don't think a productive session should have all the onus placed on the teacher - a good student is necessary to make the most out of the hour(s).

So what do you like in your students? What types of traits do your best students share in common or what attitudes do they come in with that make you want to work more with them? What kind of student makes for the best private sessions?

[DJ TJ]

So what do you like in your students? What types of traits do your best students share in common or what attitudes do they come in with that make you want to work more with them? What kind of student makes for the best private sessions?

Nice question. I've been working with a nice married couple that has been taking nearly weekly private lessons for several months. They are great students!

They have fun. They smile. They have a great sense of humor. They are open minded. They work together as a team. They have positive attitudes. The focus on what they can do. They ask great questions. They practice. They enjoy learning. They are willing to try suggestions. They each strive to do their personal best. They progress.

[Arjay]

Great question!

I think the first thing is establishing the student's goal.
If the student's goal is merely to obtain styling tips, fine.
If the student's goal is to understand how to respond to their partner, cool.
If the student is intending to become a teacher, sure why not.
If the student wants to embody my teaching philosophy, sweet....this is my ideal.
But if the student expects a magic wand to wave over their head and make them a better dancer without opening their mind...I've got issues with that.
I'm also not too thrilled with students that just want to dance with me the whole lesson. Test run things their working on with me.
I figure fix the mind(philosophy or the thought process) and fixing the body becomes easier.

I always start a lesson with "What are your strengths and what are your weaknesses?"
And "What are your short term and long term goals?"
And "What do you hope to gain from taking a lesson specifically from me? What do you hope it is that I can personally offer you to help you get better?"

As for what I like in students? I really like the students that try to embody the ideas I communicate to them rather than rushing to translate what I say. i.e. "so what you're really trying to say is..." The student is trying to insert what I said into their "system" of dance. I want them to immerse themselves into my "system" to try to understand how I relate things to each other.

[christina]

Thanks for replying Arjay!

Follow-up question for you now...Do you like to see people take a private and then come back to you down the road (month or two at most) to evaluate progress/fine-tune?

Regular "check-ups" would mean the student is continually working on something specific, getting feedback to stay on the right track, and then progressing from there. It seems to me most (not all) people are taking one-off private lessons rather than utilizing them regularly - which seems like a better process to me (kind of like having a review of last year's material when school starts before jumping into new material).

[Arjay]

Wow I totally missed this question...I'm sorry I never responded promptly....

Melissa and I are one of the few top pros that maintain a lot of business teaching students at home as much as on the road. One of the reasons we like this arrangement is because at home we have a set of students where we really cater; a teaching method that helps develop their dancing from week to week working on different elements and building on ideas from week to week.

I like this also because as an instructor I don't feel like I need to rush explaining something to my students. Like a microscope I can really focus-fire on certain elements of my students dancing. On the road I feel I need to cover a large chunk of information to my student and spend lots of time evaluating, assessing the problems to find solutions, sometimes introducing or reviewing my specific dance philosophy, then applying through dancing/drills/exercises in a short amount of time. Many times I feel students coming in for a tune up have too much expectation for a "quickie." A quick tip or hint to improve their dancing immediately like a magic wand. I really have a problem teaching this way because I recognize my teaching philosophy to be different and unique and part of maximizing ones full potential is not to always "translate" information but instead to embody the "system" then see how the bit of information works in that "system."

This does seem to be tedious work for both me the teacher and also for the student but in the long run I truly believe these students that trust this approach to really improve the most in the end. My recommendation is that students find a good balance of consistency of lessons with one instructor to embody the "system" and a good balance of taking with other instructors to give perspective and broader understanding of the "big picture." There are students I've seen (not necessarily with myself) that float around too much and don't stick to one instructor long enough to really apply what they're learning. It is most evident in their dancing when there is an attempt to "do this" and "do that" and don't show consistency from one element to the next; lots of hunting for the "correct" way of doing something.