04/23/2013
STAY TEACHABLE!!
I have been asked if it's easier to teach voice/music to children or adults. Well, that is kind of a trick question! You see, I am very blessed with adult students who LOVE to learn, and who are willing to do anything I ask of them, who do their homework, and work as hard in lesson time as the children I teach.
Still, having taught several years, my experience has been that hands-down, children are typically easier to teach for a multitude of reasons! One major factor is that children are little enthusiastic learning sponges! They are energetic. They're far less inhibited, and more willing to take risks. They are less self-conscious. They do their homework between weekly lessons, and come back excited to share all they've worked on, and what they want to do next. They still dream about what they can become.
We adults become less and less teachable over time, and are less willing to put ourselves out there and be vulnerable. We are jaded, and take feedback as criticism. We have the answer figured out before we even ask the questions sometimes. We don't like our weaknesses being pointed out, even when identifying them means we can correct or strengthen them.
Enjoy the words below, and take them to heart. They made me stop and think about my own willingness to learn new things, and how that changes my effectiveness for better or worse as a leader and teacher!
"Being a successful leader is not about competence it's about attitude. It's the hunger to discover and grow, it's the hunger to learn and relearn. When you stop learning you stop leading. To be successful the only skill you need to learn is ‘to learn'. Teachable people are fully engaged in life and in discovery, they are excited about things and are always open to ideas and to new discussions and most importantly they are disciplined.
"Successful people view learning differently from unsuccessful people. They have a different attitude. A leader knows he still has much to learn even if others consider him an expert in his field. A loser wants to be considered an expert by others before he has learned enough to know how little he knows. There is so much to learn before one realises how little one truly knows!"
