In Your Face!
I was catching up on some podcasts this week during my weekly commute to EAC when I became enthralled by a segment from To The Best Of Our Knowledge: Creative Pairs. In it, Lan Samantha Chang, Director of the Iowa Writers Workshop, discussed the impact a teacher can have on students. I was struck by this segment because providing feedback in a masterclass or workshop situation is such a major part of my teaching and, indeed, teaching any art form.
In the segment, Samantha Chang talked about how an extremely hard class situation (with direct harsh criticism) causes everyone to get up on their toes. Some thrive in the harsh atmosphere and others are silenced by it. A character in her new novel speculates that those who are shattered by a teacher’s harshness would ultimately have been shattered by something else such as a poor review or being turned down by a journal.
We have all met the “in your face” teacher who sits in absolute judgment and offers blunt, brutal comments commando style. Hopefully, we have also had the benefit of teachers who seem to be more laid back—who listen more than talk and offer advice more often than direct commands. Ms. Chang told of an influential former teacher as knowing and accepting that he had no control over what was truly received by a student and being unwilling to sit in absolute judgment over anyone else.
This teacher once made a quiet comment in class that it was a shame so few ghost stories were being written anymore. That comment completely changed her writing and her life. She began to read and research every ghost story she could get her hands on. Some of her most important characters have been ghosts and hauntings are a recurring theme in her writing.
Teacher roles is a subject close to my heart. My dissertation centered on teacher roles in community schools of the arts and Ms. Chang was essentially talking about an extreme case of Subject Matter Expert vs. Facilitator. Essentially a Subject Matter Expert style teacher tells and is focused on product while the Facilitator guides and is focused on process.
The teachers in my study felt that they acted as both experts and as facilitators. However they reported that they more often acted as experts. This went along with my feeling that we all do some of each according to the situation and the need. I have students who simply do not hear me unless I issue orders. Others thrive under a discovery based approach.
The ability to give each student what they need when they need it is basic to the art of teaching, I think. I don’t condone emotionally beating up those who come to us for help. There are ways to talk directly and honestly without being nasty or brutal. The danger comes when someone becomes stuck in only one role without being balanced by the other.
So, what to do when faced by unhelpful, possibly even destructive criticism??? Michael Colgrass gave us insight in his recent post, Positive Intent. “…all behavior—no matter how seemingly destructive—is coming from a desire for a productive outcome.” He recommends remaining quiet no matter how undiplomatic the criticism and not to argue or make excuses. “It’s not personal. He just wants results.”
On the other hand, if there is someone in your life who seems bent on destructively criticizing you and your work, perhaps even seeming to enjoy the role, you do have a choice as to whether to continue the relationship. You may wish to turn and run away! Run away! (but, don’t quit)
I don’t know if I’d call it a basic element in human nature per se — it’s more dug-in than that. Primate nature. It’s not something that distinguishes us as humans, it’s something we have in common with chimpanzees and baboons, more like. The desperation for hierarchy, and that hierarchy is gained by either being nasty, or subordinating oneself to nastiness and acting like there’s nobility in it, in having had one’s butt bitten by the alpha chimp.
It’s appalling that this NON-human drive has been attached so firmly to something that truly DOES distinguish us uniquely on the Earth as a different species, something we DON’T share with chimps and baboons: music. We truly do leave our animal selves behind when we engage with music. Perhaps that frightens people, and they need to make sure the animal self comes along for the ride, hence the baboon pecking order nonsense.
Many of us don’t think it is OK at all. I know when my own children were in school and sports that the same issues were discussed there and obviously it is an issue in the writing field. There are many articles and books about the same issues in parenting and marriage. We are looking at a basic element of human nature here I think–a not so good one. Watch for In Your Face Two coming soon.
There’s another part to this also — if random nastiness is what a teacher is supposed to hand out … then why should I pay money to them specifically to do it? Can’t I just find some mouthy asshole off the street to scream at me while I play piano?
Where does it matter that the teacher is a pianist if all they are doing is being an asshole? Like I said, I can hire someone tone-deaf to just stand there and yell at me while I play instead of pointing things out to me that I might miss that will help me solve problems — which is what I’m paying for if I retain a teacher.
I’m also confused as to why this subject of “harshness” comes up repeatedly specifically in music teaching. No one ever says that “harshness” is a great way to teach kids spelling or math. Scream at them and call them names while they are learning long division. If they can’t learn it under those circumstances, then they were probably stupid to begin with.
See how stupid and insane that sounds? So why is it suddenly okay in music?
That’s how I run my studio classes. Although, when I have an undiplomatic listener, I use the 2 word method. Each person may say only 2 words and then I call on certain people to say more.
I agree. We should be sure to note that Ms. Chang raises these issues in her new book and it was a character of hers who made the statement about those shattered. I just finished reading An Equal Music by Vikram Seth and he also deals with some of these issues as part of the story line.
Brutal teaching and harsh criticism can destroy a student’s self-esteem and confidence and turn them off a subject for life. Not everyone is thick-skinned enough to cope with a teacher who takes this line. Positive, encouraging teaching tends, in my limited experience, to have positive outcomes….
On my teacher’s recent piano course, we sat in a circle around the piano and were invited to comment on each other’s playing. It was friendly and supportive and produced some fascinating insights. Far better and more productive than sitting in serried ranks in a classroom.
” … those who are shattered by a teacher’s harshness would ultimately have been shattered by something else such as a poor review or being turned down by a journal.”
So I’ve just been given carte blanche to brutalize anyone I meet because … they might jump off a bridge after stubbing their toe on something? Cool. I’ve always wanted to be brutal to people, and now I have the perfect excuse!
This is the most spurious reasoning I’ve ever heard in my life. I know you didn’t endorse it and are just mentioning it, so I’m not pointing a finger at you, but next to “the earth is flat,” this may be the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.