Encourager, Teacher, Critic? What Students Need

In 2009, shortly before returning to Iowa, I attended an adjudicator training/recertification for the Wisconsin School Music Association.  The WSMA allows people to pick their own training dates, and I had the incredible fortune to randomly select a training attended by a very special group of people.  It turns out the high school we met in was home to a group of classmates from the 1950s and 60s, who trained a multi-generation “extended family” of top-level band directors and players all across the state.  About 30 of them were all having a reunion and getting their recertification together on the same day.

In addition to the usual review of state polices and appropriate documentation methods for scoring, we did a 2-hour masterclass with area middle and high school students and a 2-hour open forum discussion.  I spent over half the day team-coaching with these incredible mentors and listening to them talk about their lifetimes of experience, successes and failures.  Several of them had over 40-50 years under their belts, and it was an awe-inspiring group to be in the middle of.

Tim Wurgler, Program Director for the WSMA led great session on the role of an adjudicator, using materials from WGI/DCI legend George Oliviero.  This is what he taught us, and my reflections upon it after 2 years of teaching and adjudicator-coaching with it.

At any moment in time, a student needs one of three things:  An encourager, a teacher, or a critic.

• Encouragers are needed by students who aren’t sure if they want to stick it out.  This may be young players who just started or just changed instruments, or it could be older players who feel they picked a bad piece or are in over their heads.  The primary goal of an encourager is to keep them coming back for more, so they have a chance to work through their troubles.
• Teachers are needed by students who are committed to stay, but don’t have all the tools they need at their disposal yet.  In my experience anxiety and a fear of failure is common here, either in the long term or in the moment during instruction.  Students at this level like the experience of music, so they have something to lose by failing.  In addition to improving the specifics of their playing, students need to learn how to “fail forward” and overcome their anxiety.
• Critics are needed by students who are hungry and fearless.  Fearless, to me, means “not afraid of things that are not worth being afraid of”, like public performance and criticism.  These students have an attitude of readiness, faith in themselves, and embrace both the positive and negative experiences of learning.

My favorite part about this method of instruction is the emphasis on attitude over ability.  Any student, at any level, at any moment, needs one of these three things, no matter what.

Identifying which approach is needed is not a matter of teaching skill, but one of human interaction:  Lack of confidence, despair, or self-consciousness is apparent in a student’s body language from the moment they walk in the door, and often revealed further in their playing.  Similarly, confidence, desire, and a positive attitude are obvious as well, regardless of the level or accuracy of an individual performance.

Attitude is a far better predictor of success than talent or ability, because it addresses a student’s fundamental willingness to strive and work regardless of circumstance.  Giving students specific feedback on their ability adds value to them. Helping students come back for more, equip themselves, and develop faith in their ability to grow multiplies value by empowering them continue after your interaction is over.

As a judge, it is possible to interact with a student only once in their life.  In that moment, helping them move forward in terms of attitude can have a life-changing impact.

As a teacher, regularly navigating with a student from encouragement to critique can develop a bond that will last a lifetime.