Chapter 8
This chapter is titled, "The Talent Whisperers," where Coyle discusses the types of coaches, teachers, and mentors that help drive deep practice in "talent hotbeds." One example is Herman "The Baron" Lamm, who revolutionized bank robberies in the 1920s through his meticulous training of his crews before his heists. Another example is Hans Jensen, a famous cello teacher who has found incredible success in his teaching through his flexibility in his instruction. A third example is John Wooden, the head basketball coach of the UCLA team in the 1970s. He was infamous for his incredibly long win streaks and dominating team, which came from practices that were thoroughly thought out and focused on small details and error-correction. I think that there are two main points we can take from these examples as teachers of singing: One, the importance in adapting our teaching to fit the needs of the student, and two, channeling our teaching into small, prepared, error-correction focused instruction. The first point is important because our students will have a wide variety of voice types and needs. It is important that we develop of sense for what our students need in a lesson and make the necessary adjustments to meet these needs. The second point focuses on the importance of error-correction and short "bursts" of instruction. If we ramble on for too long about one thing, the information we are trying to get our students to comprehend will not stick in their brains. If we focus on small details and error-correction, the will be more likely to stay focused and remember the errors we corrected (and hopefully, they will learn to correct the errors themselves).
Chapter 9
This chapter is titled, "The Teaching Circuit: A Blueprint," and it includes four virtues that all master coaches and teachers have in common. The first virtue is called "The Matrix," and it is their, "vast grid of task-specific knowledge that distinguishes the best teachers and allows them to creatively and effectively respond to a student's efforts."(Page 178). Many of the master coaches and teachers Coyle found where older because to become a master, you usually need decades of experience to cultivate your matrix. The second virtue is Perceptiveness, and it is a master coach or teacher's ability to understand their students and adjust for their specific needs. Masters are always trying to investigate their new students and "know when [their students] don't know." (Page 185).The third virtue is called the "GPS Reflex," which means the master delivers, "their information to their students in a series of short, vivid, and high-definition bursts." (Page 186). The instructions are similar to that of a GPS in their specificity, confidence, objectivity, and urgency. The fourth virtue is called 'Theatrical Honesty," which means to form a connection with students where the master teacher or coach can be honest with the students. Many of the master teachers Coyle found were personable, kind, passionate, and also direct, fierce, and sometimes terrifying. As teachers of singing, we can directly implement all of these virtues into our lessons (most of Coyle's examples of these virtues came from a voice teacher). However, I think the most important aspect for us to get from this chapter is the importance of connection. From these virtues, I noticed that the master teachers and coaches always made significant connections with their students, but also to real life. It is important for us to help our students understand how the real world affects their singing and to help our students make a connection to the world. My favorite part of this chapter was this quote (from the math teacher Ms. Jackson), "'I know the world they live in. This isn't about math. I'm not teaching math. It's about life. It's about every single day being a new day, and each time you wake up, you look at the ski you've got as a gift. The day is here. What are you going to do with it?'" (Page 191).
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