What makes the best singing teachers or the best drama teachers?
You will always remember the teachers that had the biggest influence on your life from school and other activities as a child. In my opinion those teachers are the most important and probably the best. Just take a moment now to think about the teacher that had the biggest positive impact on you? Who was he/she, why does he/she stick clearly in your mind when most teachers fade into the distant memory?
I think that they had certain qualities that are imperative and when I started Little Voices the fundamentally most important criteria was to have tutors working with us in our performing arts family that had those special qualities as well as the background in performing arts, of course.
Letters after you name and all the education/academia in the world in my opinion does not make a great teacher.
The word education comes from the latin verb educare which means ‘to draw out’. Teachers are educating our children, Little Voices Tutors are drawing out the very best from our pupils. Working with individual pupils and their needs is what it is all about – not imprinting and instructing them but working with them, caring and supporting them.
So what do I think makes a great teacher?
- An Inspirational person – someone who you look up to, admire and respect. Perhaps you want to be like them? Especially in performing arts they need to practise what they preach!
- Someone who genuinely cares and is interested in you – it is really important that a teacher understands you and knows your strengths and weaknesses, can help build your confidence and we know at Little Voices that when a child feels happy their confidence will blossom.
- Someone who can effectively communicate to you – they can change the ways and means in which they present information to you and can help you to explore your own ideas and understand how to do something! Everyone is a different type of learner; auditory, visual, kinaesthetic or a mixture of those and a great teacher will facilitate ever type of learner
- A great teacher obviously knows their subject and is constantly learning and developing to enhance their knowledge base. They keep themselves current and are hungry for new learning and embrace new ideas.
- They are passionate, bubbly and approachable but coupled with being highly organised and reliable. Well these are certainly attributes that I look for. Our entire Little Voices organisation is built with these qualities in mind.
Does this sound like you?
OR does it sound like the people that you would want to work with?
Learn how it could fit in with your life and in your area.
Email jane@littlevoices.org.uk