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Post by Steve Hopwood on Feb 3, 2007 13:15:02 GMT
This thread is for us teachers to swap the experiences we get out of our everyday work - the comical, touching or just pleasant. I suggest we make this a thread where individual posts do not call for replies along the lines of, "I enjoyed that" and that readers simply enjoy the stories.
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Post by Steve Hopwood on Feb 3, 2007 13:25:00 GMT
13 year ol Rachel arrived for her lesson earlier. Mum announced in funereal terms that Rachel cannot have chocolate for the foreseeable future. Rachel is having an upper brace fitted. The first part of the treatment involves a structure that makes the teeth very hard to clean - hence the choc ban. Rachel and I both agreed that this is child abuse of the worst kind. Muttered mum darkly, from the corner, "Don't worry. She will soon find a way round it." We all agreed that the ban is unlikely to stand up long-term, once Rachel gets used to the brace and learns to work around it. Rachel and I both felt it unfair that she should lose out permanently on her piano lesson chocs, so I offered to save them up for her. We needed a way of keeping a record, so the back of her book now has a Choc Chart, so I can give her the outstanding ones when the ban is lifted. The Choc Chart has four strikes so far. These result from: the usual one for playing beautifully her prepared music; the usual one at the end of the lesson for putting up with me for 30 minutes; the usual one for passing her notes test (not been learning long despite being 13); an extra for playing correctly five times a rhythm with which she had been struggling - bribery and corruption at its best. I hope the ban doesn't go on for too long, or I shall go broke when it ends. ;D ;D ;D
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Post by hoxie on Feb 4, 2007 11:51:29 GMT
Mine's not really a story, and dancing instead of music, but one of the younger kids in a class I help with was sat having a chat to me and told me that I have lots of chickenpox.... ;D 5 year olds don't seem to understand the features of teenage skin, but it made me laugh
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Post by petite joueuse on Feb 4, 2007 20:39:11 GMT
One of my teenage boys made me laugh this week. I explained a rather nasty piece of homework I wanted the class to do. They all wrote it down, grumbling under their breaths about how long it was going to take them - but then I realised it was my last opportunity to take their books in before parents' evening, so I said "Scrap that - don't do the homework - I'm taking your books in". The adorable lad on the front row looked up at me, sighed loudly and said, "and I thought angels had wings!".
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Post by Steve Hopwood on Feb 4, 2007 21:44:18 GMT
A catastrophe happened on Friday night - my travel around villages close to Gainsborough night. I arrived at my first house and discovered I had left the chocs at home. My first two, 10 and 8 year old sisters were easily mollified by the promise of double next week. As was no 3, Antonia, the just 7 year old sister of two older girls I teach; she is the subject of 'Awww', a thread I put in the Cafe last summer. Long before I started teaching her, Ant was brilliant at 'just-happening-to-pass-by' when I left the house and catching her share of the goodies as a result. She would always give a nearly convincing start of surprise when offered a choc. She is just as good now as she always has her lesson first and has time to position herself for ambush after I have taught her sisters. Heck, she is blonde, blue-eyed and gappy-grinned; how is a guy supposed to resist? Come the end of her lesson on Friday, I reiterated my promise of double next week. She stood up to leave, then went into a little world of her own. This is what I heard (all the time counting on her fingers). "That is one for playing my pieces at the start of the lesson. One for passing my notes test. One for putting up with him for half an hour." Ant wasn't being nasty. At the end of a lesson, I give the kid a choc, "For putting up with me for 30 minutes. No child should be exposed to such cruelty" She was still counting all this on her fingers. "That's 1, 2, 3 for this week, so 4, 5,6 next week. Then there is 1 for accidentally being around when he goes.................." Ant looked up at me guiltily. Then she grinned hugely. "Oops" she said, and fled.
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Post by digby on Feb 5, 2007 19:37:19 GMT
Discussion with an 11 year old pianist.
Me: What kind of instrument do you think Bach might have played this on? (Having discussed harpsichords etc a couple of weeks back)
Her: My gran had this thing, its like a CD player with big black discs and an arm on, I think its called a record player.
Me: A huge sigh, as I quickly lose the will to live!
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Post by mitch on Feb 6, 2007 13:49:14 GMT
This thread is for us teachers to swap the experiences we get out of our everyday work - the comical, touching or just pleasant. I suggest we make this a thread where individual posts do not call for replies along the lines of, "I enjoyed that" and that readers simply enjoy the stories. What a nice idea... I enjoyed that idea Steve... Couldn't resist.... Please don't spank me too hard!!! Will post when I get a happy bit!!
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Post by kerioboe on Feb 6, 2007 19:25:15 GMT
When teaching English in a French secondary school the text book suggested introducing the past tense with questions like "Who was + the name of a famous person?" I used an example suggested in the teacher's notes and asked "Who was Beethoven?" My best pupil put up his hand and said "He was a dog."
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Post by Dulciana on Feb 6, 2007 21:24:15 GMT
"What does comodo mean again?"
"It's a dragon."
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Post by Dulciana on Feb 7, 2007 23:58:07 GMT
My TG Grade 5 pupil gave me photocopies of his pieces last week so that I could go through them and pick out anything I thought might be asked in the musicianship questions. And I had to confess to him tonight that we used them to light the fire... . It wasn't me - it was my son. I had sorted out all my music and made a pile beside the fire of what was to okay to use as fire-lighters (we've no heating at the minute) but the photocopies made it into the wrong pile...
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Post by Steve Hopwood on Feb 8, 2007 19:41:52 GMT
Concerning 14 year old Jess earlier this evening: Me: "Ok, Jess, have a go at this bit." * follows much faffing around * Jess: "Sorry. Ignore me. I am just having a dither spasm." ;D ;D ;D
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Post by Steve Hopwood on Feb 8, 2007 22:24:31 GMT
Concerning 16 year old Kate. During the lesson, the moment doubtless carefully selected for maximum effect: Kate: "Mediterranean sausages." Me: "Pardon?" Kate: "Mediterranean sausages." Me: "I know I am going to regret this but I have to ask anyway. Why did you just say 'Mediterranean sausages'?" At this point, a triumphant Kate whipped out a battered piece of paper from her pocket and demanded, "Sign here." The paper read, "I, the undersigned Piano Teacher Steve Hopwood do hereby affirm that Kate conned me into saying 'Mediterranean sausages' entirely of my own volition." Me: "What is at stake here?" Kate: "A Mars bar." Well, of course I signed. ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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Post by SuzyMac on Feb 9, 2007 10:42:30 GMT
"What does comodo mean again?" "It's a dragon." Awesome ;D What does andante mean? It's like when you haven't quite cooked the pasta
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Post by petite joueuse on Feb 9, 2007 14:20:12 GMT
Con brio?
With a train set
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Post by possom on Feb 9, 2007 16:02:48 GMT
Con brio? With a train set I love that one!!! At least they got the "with" bit right ;D
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