Interestingly, I've heard from university professors in the last 5 years that this problem has grown for them as the first wave of kids totally raised on this "self-esteem" model hit college age. For example, they've seen more students are challenging the "fairness" of low grades for poor quality work (i.e., I completed the assignment so I should get an A regardless of quality) and claiming mere attendance should earn them at least a B in a course. Even worse are the ones who still have mommy and daddy calling the university to complain about low grades. Since I'm only about 7 years older than most of them, it's surprising to me the rapidity with which this has become so widespread and such a widely discussed problem. Just my perspective. Erin B. St. Louis, MO
"Pandolfi, Orlando" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: I can't help chuckling to myself, as just yesterday at a rehearsal I was conducting, I said the exact same thing to the students. They were showing dismay at my criticism that they were not listening properly and therefore not doing what I had asked. I told them that merely showing up is not good enough, despite what other teachers might be telling them. The psycho-babble Bill speaks of is rampant in private institutions as well, and in fact, the privileged, with whom I (shamefully) admit I spend most of my teaching time, expect the rewards even more than your average "blue collar" student. The parents of the economically elite students want and expect only success, and they will pay large amounts of money to anyone who will provide such success, real or imagined, for their child. I can't count the number of times the parent of an applicant to my school has told me how "talented" their child was, only to find that the student is some two chord, new age piano player whose previous teacher told them how wonderful they were at $75 a lesson. When they come to me, often the dose of reality is too shocking, and I end up being the bad guy. In my horn studies, the teacher that was the fussiest with me was the one that made me a much better player, despite the fact that the blow to my ego was sometimes devastating. This is not to say that a more diplomatic approach cannot accomplish the same thing, but in retrospect, the direct honesty that was part of my tutelage was much more efficient. I had to work quite hard to gain a compliment, but I would not have it any other way. I would love to know the name of the speaker Bill was paraphrasing, on or off list. O. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Bill Gross Sent: Wednesday, March 01, 2006 8:44 AM To: 'The Horn List' Subject: RE: [Hornlist] Transposing, et al Some of the attitudes Hans talks about in younger students appears is similar to what I've heard from some people doing hiring in the US. People entering the work force went through a school system that was very big on "self worth." (I am paraphrasing from a speaker I heard over six months ago. So, apply all kinds of caveats, the biggest of which may be faulty memory, on to the speaker may have been over generalizing. Grain of salt and all that) His contention was that this new bunch of folks expect to be rewarded almost immediately for showing up. If I understand what Hans had to say, this is a more universal phenomenon than I thought. If so, it's a shame the European education has fallen for the same psycho-babble that inhabits lot of public education in the US. _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/pandolfi%40deerfield.edu _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/ireland1006%40sbcglobal.net _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
