Problem: Teacher Burn Out
15/02/09 03:04 Filed in: Teaching Philosophy
In my previous entry I introduced you to Dr. Bebop. Unfortunately, Dr. Bebop may have been in desperate need of a break or some kind of change. After the passion for teaching has waned—especially if it was originally a transitional career in lieu of that of a performer/recording artist—and you begin to hope that your students cancel, bitterness and resentment begin to set in. Bitterness and resentment are code words for teacher burn out.
Facts: First, teaching is a business. And just like any other business it’s all about the bottom line. One of the main problems in staying in the black is that lessons are mainly one-on-one which doesn’t make it financially lucrative for the teacher and the establishment. The answer to this is volume—squeeze in as many students as possible in the time that you have the teacher on the clock.
Second, because of the first point, teaching has become a decent paying part-time job and lousy paying career. This results in the difficulty of attracting qualified teachers as opposed to transitional musicians trying their hand at teaching for a quick paycheck.
Third, if you are one of the fortunate few that are able to establish a teaching practice out of your home or office and can pick and choose your students, then you can more easily avoid burn out. After all, this individual is dedicated to teaching and not just passing the time before the ever-elusive record deal comes a-knockin’.
Fourth, burn out occurs from feelings of resentment. Unfortunately, some teachers are not happy with the way that their careers are going and these feelings get transferred to their current position. In addition, dealing with beginners and challenging (behavioral) students can have the teacher feeling as more of a babysitter than an educator.
Dilemma: Teacher: How do you take a break without losing your clientele? Parent and Student: How do you tell when a teacher is burning out?
Part of my journey: After graduating from Berklee I was teaching part-time at the local music store and would tour nationally with Rhythm and Blues acts. I was too young and immature to handle the rigors of the road and, after two and a half years of on-and-off touring, I quit to teach full time. The local music store advertised me as an up-and-coming hot shot and made me the main teacher. I went from teaching a handful of students a week to somewhere between 50 and 60 students per week. I taught first-year piano, beginner to intermediate bass, and all levels of guitar. Boy, I thought the road was tough! Weekends were especially challenging because I would normally gig on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with a full teaching load from Noon thru 8PM on Fridays and 10AM thru 8PM on Saturdays.
The big problem was that I couldn’t take any time off. If I didn’t teach, nobody got taught, and I wouldn’t get paid. This type of schedule compromised my ability to take on any studio work or out-of-town gigs. In addition, I was still a young and fairly inexperienced teacher without a mentor. This meant that I would learn the art of teaching on the job without someone to go to who understood what I was going through. During this part of my career I experienced a lot of ups and downs on a spiritual and emotional level.
First, I was happy and felt fortunate that I was making my living as a working musician. However, I also felt disillusioned at the direction or lack of direction that I was experiencing. I enjoyed teaching when all was going well; that is, the students liked me and I liked them, they asked me things that I knew the answers to and paid attention during lessons. I didn’t know how to deal with the problem students and there were also students who weren’t progressing. This would leave me feeling depressed and on the verge of burn out.
I was running out of patience with my students. My schedule left me tired and cranky, I longed for student cancellations. I was burning out at 25.
Solution: For Teachers I once took a transitional job at another music store. The owner would’ve made a great mentor. He had a simple philosophy, “You gotta have the right mentality for this job.” I don’t believe that I had the right mentality at first but learned it. So my take on his philosophy is, “Learn the right mentality for this job.” “How?” You ask. It’s simple, “Put some gratitude in your attitude.” Be grateful that you are a positive influence in these kids lives and that you are giving to them what was freely given to you. Music changed your life as it did mine and I am forever grateful to those who freely shared their experiences with me. Now, I’m grateful that I am able to pass it along.
I often thank my students at the end of the lesson. One future flamethrower responded with, “What are you thanking me for?” To which I replied, “Without you, there would be no need for me.” Sometimes I’ll just simply say, “For your attention.” In either case, without them who knows what I’d be doing.
I also employ a few different tactics to avoid burn out. I use a loop machine to record a backing track that we both can solo over which makes the lessons fun. I also have some fun lessons that I throw in from time to time to keep the lessons fresh. There will be posts devoted to specific techniques in the future.
Solution: For Parents Communication and awareness. As in a previous post: trust your gut. Lessons should have a natural rhythm as they build on the previous lesson with some occasional trouble spots taking a little extra time. Read the teacher’s attitude and personality. If they are irritable most of the time or avoid you regularly then something’s wrong. Ask your child how the lessons are going and ask to move to another day or time. There are certain days that the personalities of the students that I have drain my energy more than others so a day and time change would serve better than a teacher change.
Solution: For Students This is simple. Be prepared and ask questions. These two simple points will make you part of your lesson. By being part of the lesson means that I can easily do my job—teach.
Young beginners are exhausting because, as the teacher, you have to educate, entertain and babysit. When the students are interested and ask pertinent questions I don’t have to play their role. For example: Student: How do you solo? Teacher: First, we need to look at a little music theory… S: How can music theory help me solo? T: By showing you why certain scales work and others don’t, by providing you with options rather than you simply connecting the dots.
This conversation can go on and on, and by the end of the lesson he will understand a little music theory with the motivation that he’ll soon be able to solo. My job is then to mix in some fun stuff with the theory that gets him soloing and enjoying his lessons more. The result: I’m inspired to teach, the student is motivated to practice and learn music theory, and the parents see the enthusiasm in both the student and teacher.
How did my story end? I got a call for a morning session to play through the contents of a guitar scale book that the music publisher was going to add a recording to. I showed up for the session and recorded the project in two days. I made notes to the manuscript with corrections and changes to the music that was in the book. A few months later they called me saying that they had an opening for a music editor and if I was interested I could come in and be tested for the position. I took the position and after 12 years I left that company with the title of Managing Editor and Director of Latin Publications.
Facts: First, teaching is a business. And just like any other business it’s all about the bottom line. One of the main problems in staying in the black is that lessons are mainly one-on-one which doesn’t make it financially lucrative for the teacher and the establishment. The answer to this is volume—squeeze in as many students as possible in the time that you have the teacher on the clock.
Second, because of the first point, teaching has become a decent paying part-time job and lousy paying career. This results in the difficulty of attracting qualified teachers as opposed to transitional musicians trying their hand at teaching for a quick paycheck.
Third, if you are one of the fortunate few that are able to establish a teaching practice out of your home or office and can pick and choose your students, then you can more easily avoid burn out. After all, this individual is dedicated to teaching and not just passing the time before the ever-elusive record deal comes a-knockin’.
Fourth, burn out occurs from feelings of resentment. Unfortunately, some teachers are not happy with the way that their careers are going and these feelings get transferred to their current position. In addition, dealing with beginners and challenging (behavioral) students can have the teacher feeling as more of a babysitter than an educator.
Dilemma: Teacher: How do you take a break without losing your clientele? Parent and Student: How do you tell when a teacher is burning out?
Part of my journey: After graduating from Berklee I was teaching part-time at the local music store and would tour nationally with Rhythm and Blues acts. I was too young and immature to handle the rigors of the road and, after two and a half years of on-and-off touring, I quit to teach full time. The local music store advertised me as an up-and-coming hot shot and made me the main teacher. I went from teaching a handful of students a week to somewhere between 50 and 60 students per week. I taught first-year piano, beginner to intermediate bass, and all levels of guitar. Boy, I thought the road was tough! Weekends were especially challenging because I would normally gig on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays with a full teaching load from Noon thru 8PM on Fridays and 10AM thru 8PM on Saturdays.
The big problem was that I couldn’t take any time off. If I didn’t teach, nobody got taught, and I wouldn’t get paid. This type of schedule compromised my ability to take on any studio work or out-of-town gigs. In addition, I was still a young and fairly inexperienced teacher without a mentor. This meant that I would learn the art of teaching on the job without someone to go to who understood what I was going through. During this part of my career I experienced a lot of ups and downs on a spiritual and emotional level.
First, I was happy and felt fortunate that I was making my living as a working musician. However, I also felt disillusioned at the direction or lack of direction that I was experiencing. I enjoyed teaching when all was going well; that is, the students liked me and I liked them, they asked me things that I knew the answers to and paid attention during lessons. I didn’t know how to deal with the problem students and there were also students who weren’t progressing. This would leave me feeling depressed and on the verge of burn out.
I was running out of patience with my students. My schedule left me tired and cranky, I longed for student cancellations. I was burning out at 25.
Solution: For Teachers I once took a transitional job at another music store. The owner would’ve made a great mentor. He had a simple philosophy, “You gotta have the right mentality for this job.” I don’t believe that I had the right mentality at first but learned it. So my take on his philosophy is, “Learn the right mentality for this job.” “How?” You ask. It’s simple, “Put some gratitude in your attitude.” Be grateful that you are a positive influence in these kids lives and that you are giving to them what was freely given to you. Music changed your life as it did mine and I am forever grateful to those who freely shared their experiences with me. Now, I’m grateful that I am able to pass it along.
I often thank my students at the end of the lesson. One future flamethrower responded with, “What are you thanking me for?” To which I replied, “Without you, there would be no need for me.” Sometimes I’ll just simply say, “For your attention.” In either case, without them who knows what I’d be doing.
I also employ a few different tactics to avoid burn out. I use a loop machine to record a backing track that we both can solo over which makes the lessons fun. I also have some fun lessons that I throw in from time to time to keep the lessons fresh. There will be posts devoted to specific techniques in the future.
Solution: For Parents Communication and awareness. As in a previous post: trust your gut. Lessons should have a natural rhythm as they build on the previous lesson with some occasional trouble spots taking a little extra time. Read the teacher’s attitude and personality. If they are irritable most of the time or avoid you regularly then something’s wrong. Ask your child how the lessons are going and ask to move to another day or time. There are certain days that the personalities of the students that I have drain my energy more than others so a day and time change would serve better than a teacher change.
Solution: For Students This is simple. Be prepared and ask questions. These two simple points will make you part of your lesson. By being part of the lesson means that I can easily do my job—teach.
Young beginners are exhausting because, as the teacher, you have to educate, entertain and babysit. When the students are interested and ask pertinent questions I don’t have to play their role. For example: Student: How do you solo? Teacher: First, we need to look at a little music theory… S: How can music theory help me solo? T: By showing you why certain scales work and others don’t, by providing you with options rather than you simply connecting the dots.
This conversation can go on and on, and by the end of the lesson he will understand a little music theory with the motivation that he’ll soon be able to solo. My job is then to mix in some fun stuff with the theory that gets him soloing and enjoying his lessons more. The result: I’m inspired to teach, the student is motivated to practice and learn music theory, and the parents see the enthusiasm in both the student and teacher.
How did my story end? I got a call for a morning session to play through the contents of a guitar scale book that the music publisher was going to add a recording to. I showed up for the session and recorded the project in two days. I made notes to the manuscript with corrections and changes to the music that was in the book. A few months later they called me saying that they had an opening for a music editor and if I was interested I could come in and be tested for the position. I took the position and after 12 years I left that company with the title of Managing Editor and Director of Latin Publications.
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