Young and Inexperienced Piano Teachers are Not Always Valued
So often we value experience in many aspects of life and sometimes the young and inexperienced are completely overlooked. I have met quite a number of young piano teachers and they all have shared a few characteristics. The first is that they are so enthusiastic about playing the piano and wanting to share the knowledge with their students, so they too can become passionate about playing the piano. The other characteristic is that they are keenly aware of their lack of experience and are willing to go on a huge learning curve to become an effective piano teacher.
Even though I am now in the category of being an older an experienced teacher, I remember when I was new at teaching the piano. I remember clearly the very first piano lesson I taught. I was so young I was still at university and I managed to get myself four or five piano students in the first year of teaching. I remember quite clearly one day after a student’s lesson when I was talking to the student’s mother, she remarked to me that being young was the main reason why she chose me to teach her daughter. She went on to explain that she didn’t want an older person who was set in their ways but much preferred someone who was young and enthusiastic. Her final comment to me was “besides, what you don’t know now, you will know in the next couple of years”.
I’m grateful to that mother having that conversation with me all those years ago, because it has reminded me to stay enthusiastic about teaching and remain young at heart. Even though I’m now on the experienced side of the spectrum, I still believe that the enthusiasm of youth is of value. I also think that enthusiasm is also significantly undervalued.
For the record, even when I was the young and inexperienced piano teacher, I was still an effective teacher. I believed it when I was young and even though I have amassed more knowledge, I still believe that I was an effective piano teacher right from the very beginning.
If you are looking for a piano teacher to teach you from the very beginning, or a teacher to re-teach you what you learned many years ago, don’t necessarily dismiss having a young teacher. A young teacher might turn out to be the perfect fit for you and as a bonus, you will be giving them the gift of some experience.