A teaching moment: Asking the wrong question
I love teaching guitar as much as playing guitar playing a gig.
This week, I’ve been giving free trial lessons at my guitar lesson studio to new students. Yesterday, I realized I had a missed opportunity, all because I asked the wrong question.
One of my new students was picking up the concepts rather quickly, and I was excited about this. At the conclusion of the lesson, I asked, excitedly, “Did you have fun?”
He smiled and said, ‘Yes.”
Now, I believe the new student did have fun, but what a terrible, leading question. What do I learn by a asking a student that question? How many students would say “no”?
A better question is, “What was most fun that we did today?”
Even better: “What was most difficult?” Or “How might you approach that challenging part? Which aspect of our lesson will be most fun to try at home?”
Over 10 years of teaching experience, and I’m still learning. That’s what makes it fun.
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