Monday, April 28, 2008

Teaching

Doug's mom asked me to teacher her two classes while she went to Arizona to visit family.  It was fun since I don't have much in my schedule.  But boy let me tell you, college kids are hard to teach : ).  First of all it was beginning piano and I am used to teaching little kids so I have all sorts of easy-to-understand explanations for little kids.  Well you can't use these with college kids! I found it hard to explain things without talking down to them.  Secondly they said nothing! NOTHING!  When I asked them if we played it too fast, or if they need it again, or if there were any questions..............................Yeah you guessed it, a lot of blank faces staring at me and the room so silent you could hear a pin drop.  It was actually kind of amusing to compare it with teaching opinionated and very vocal children (which is what I'm used to).  You would think college kids are comfortable enough with their lives that they can ask questions or at least talk to each other.  Lastly I found ways to fix my own problems in teaching.  Sometimes I go too fast or I confuse rather than clarify.  It really uses more self discipline to teach older ages than younger.  It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it!  

3 comments:

Leslie said...

Way to go Jessica...pretty cool that you were able to teach those classes!

Traci said...

I hate it when no one talks in class. It makes everyone feel so awkward. I bet it's even worse as the teacher!

Richelle said...

Sounds like some fun experiences!