4C - Questions&Answers

I have been asking some of my questions, using them as topics of conversation with a few of my colleagues (dance teachers)  and Managers at work. 

We discussed some of my 'teaching' questions and talked about how there are many different ways of teaching. I got out my phone to make notes and recorded some of our chat so that I could type it out here on my blog :) 
Surprisingly I found that this one particular topic I was discussing with a fellow teacher led me to a possible line of inquiry! (YAY) 

Anyway, some answers...

Do you think that a teacher should have qualifications to teach?
Yes, I think it helps in some cases. Some teachers may not already have had experience with teaching and doing some teacher courses and get qualifications can help teach them how to arrange classes, give them encouragement and teaching techniques. 

What if the teacher has been teaching for a few years and has some experience already?
"Well then I'd say that it wouldn't be very helpful for them to take the basic teacher training course. I think that if they are coping well with the class and the children are learning and enjoying themselves - that's what is most important." 

Though a teacher has qualifications, does that make them a good teacher? 
"No, definitely not. I feel that some teachers may have all the qualifications but if they have no experience actually teaching and working with children then they can't possibly be a good teacher. It's no use just knowing HOW to teach, you have to be able to cope with the different attitudes and abilities of the classes you take."

After talking about how we teach differently from each other, we went on to talk about why we teach the way we do and how the training we had as students has taken effect on the way we teach.

Dance teacher - "I was trained in ballet from a young age and I think that because of that strict way of learning and being shown and explained how to do the movements and progress through the grades is why I teach the way I do. Maybe because some teachers haven't been classically trained, they don't really explain how particular movements are done, they rely on just showing it and expect the children to be able to do it."

More questions and answers on the way...