Eric shares sixty seconds of encouragement for the instructor who is intimidated by self-teaching students.
“I had a student come in this week and say, Mr. Eric! I’ve learned four new songs by myself over the course
of the week!’ That’s exciting this is what I refer to as a self-teaching student. However, some instructors are intimidated by self-teaching students because they’re concerned that the student will then drop off of their roster and they’ll lose the income from that student because of the fact that the student is self-teaching. The parent may say, ‘Well, they’re learning on their own… why do I need to pay for lessons?’
Here are four reasons you should not be intimidated by a self-teaching student:
- A self-teaching student shows that your lessons are effective and they’re doing what they’re supposed to do! Good job… you’re a good teacher!
- Because of your instruction, your student is becoming a learner and not just a guitar-playing robot. The student is doing more than regurgitating what he or she learns in a lesson.
- Because your student is motivated to learn on his/her own, you can tackle more difficult material in your lesson, which means…
- Your lessons will be more fun!
Is it possible that you may lose a self-teaching student? Yes, but it’s not likely.”