Teaching Outside the Box

What happens when you try to reinvent the way you do something? Sometimes it goes well, other times it doesn't. As teachers, there is a tried and tested formula that works. We know it works because it's been followed by teachers all around the world for as long as we can probably recall. Is teaching by the book a good thing or a bad thing? Should we as teachers be thinking outside of that conventional box in order to push the boundaries of how we teach and present information to students?

I think so. Here is why…

So, as you know, every single person regardless of age, ability, background or any other varying factor in life will have a different ability, desire and need to learn. Different people’s personality traits lend themselves different to learning in their own ways.

In my years teaching I have discovered that every person will present you with a different way of learning and a different way they like to receive information.

I often say that I like to teach the student, not the subject. Teaching the subject is my way of viewing teaching as a one-sided experience. Teaching the student is a two-way experience where the learning is matched to the student’s personality.

Some people prefer incredibly theoretic based lessons while others may prefer the practical aspects. Other students may like to learn songs while others may aspire to write their own. I don’t feel a one-sided blanket approach to teaching each of these people is relevant. If we then multiply that by the number of students, we each have in our diary each week that adds up to a lot of students and a lot of different learning styles.

Don’t let convention stop you being a good teacher. Teach your own way and think outside the box. Show your students what they really need to learn. Be the best Guitar Teacher in Glasgow or the best Ukulele Teacher in Liverpool that you can possibly be. Break out of the box today!