1. Is he/she a member of any local or national music teacher organization?
Teaching sometimes can be very subjective and bias. Without reading pedagogical materials, having teacher's conferences, or exchanging teaching experience among colleagues, a music teacher can be closed-minded, which results in improper or inadequate student training.
2. Are there student recitals periodically?
Student recitals give students an opportunity to show off their learned skills and to heighten their confidence through the performance. Since perfection is NOT the main focus in student recitals, students would need juried activities to help their ambitions for Excellency.
3. Besides student recitals, are there any juried performances or competitions that this particular teacher's students participate?
It's very important to enter students for juried performances, regardless levels. The students would take the importance of learning more seriously, if there are goals and expectations.
4. Does the teacher use the same materials and books for all the students?
The teacher should use different materials and books to teacher different aged students even with the same level. A music teacher should be interested in getting to know the student by asking a lot of questions on the first day to learn the personality of the student and the purpose of taking lessons, which helps the teacher determine what books and materials to use.
5. What are the agenda differences for different aged students and levels?
For all beginners, especially young children, a music teacher should include theory, ear-training, sight-reading, techniques, music history, in his/her teaching agenda. None of them should be omitted or under stressed. On the other hand, for transfer students who have had missing parts of training, the teacher should spend time on the weakness of the students. A teacher should not use one single method to teach all students with different ages, levels, understanding, and personalities. Basically, different leveled student would learn different areas. It's more technical for beginning and intermediate students; whereas more artistry and interpretation would involve as students progress.
6. Is there a particular area that the teacher would focus on?
A music teacher should not obsess with any particular method, area, book, and material, based on his /her own interests or preference. A good music teacher would only focus on a particular area when the student needs it at the right time and right level.
7. Does the teacher encourage a parent to sit in?
Generally speaking, parental presence helps children learning. The observation of a parent in lessons can guide the student at home. In my opinion, not only can a parent help the student review what is learned in a lesson, but also the parent and the child create a special bonding to each other through music. It is a shame, to me, that parents do not learn things together with their children, which unnoticeably creates a gap between the parents and the children. Any skill learning is both technical and emotional. Through parental support, a child can learn as well as enjoy it. Parental sitting-in is especially important for younger children, for they tend to learn fast yet forget fast. Guidance at home from parents is extremely essential to ensure proper learning. Young children may not follow the instruction well enough to know what to do or how to practice at home, despite of well written notes from the teacher to the parents. Music learning is not only about notation recognizing or techniques, but is also about seeing, hearing, feeling, and touching, all at the same time.
I am not sure why many music teachers do not encourage parents to sit in. Of course, not every student is comfortable with parental presence. Each case is different. Some children do misbehave or get distracted by their parents sitting next to them in lessons. It depends on the age of the children and the involvement of the parents. Parental sitting-in is as it is: a parent is present, listening, observing, and learning, without interrupting the lesson or trying to discipline the child at the same time. If the purpose of taking music lessons is solely for therapitic or entertaining reason, sitting-in, then, is not necessary at all.
According to my own experience, the children with their parents sitting-in learn much better than those whose parents do not know what they learn at all.
B. Observation during sitting-in of other student's lesson:
1. Good signs:
a. Teacher asks questions
b. Teacher explains WHY, instead of commanding
c. Teacher asks the student to explore things on his/her own first. Then explain and give answers
d. Teacher uses positive wording with positive attitude (nothing is the end of the world)
e. Teacher demonstrates the ways to improve a particular passage in the music, not just by saying it
f. Teacher demonstrates the ways how to practice a difficult area
2. Bad signs:
a. Teacher writes alphabets for the notes on music, so the student plays the letters instead of trying to figure out the notes him/herself, for a new music piece
b. Teacher judges student by saying "no," "wrong," "not good," etc. frequently.
c. Teacher exhibits impatient for the student's learning progress by not letting student take time to respond
d. Teacher tells the student every letter name on the music, when student hesitates playing the notes
e. For a new piece of music, teacher plays first and asks the student to copy what the teacher did, without giving the student an opportunity to identify or figure the music out by him/herself.
f. Basically, a music teacher cannot teach a student, as if he/she is training a puppy or controlling a puppet.