Telling is Not Teaching…

It was back in 1999 where I first met Charles Dowd, a professor of percussion and timpanist from the Eugene Symphony Orchestra. We met in London, Ontario, where he was scouting for some students for his percussion program. The topic of his lecture was timpani performance, performing Carter’s Improvisation - brilliantly I might add. After the lecture, we discussed the possibility of attending his school. I was unsure of I or he was serious about this prospect, but I soon received a follow up from Charles and the University of Oregon. I attended that University of Oregon for one simple reason: I accepted a very generous scholarship for my DMA in Percussion Performance, which was about $100,000 USD. Well, who could pass that up?

Not knowing the campus or the student body, I bravely set out to continue my education in percussion performance, hoping that I may one day be a professor of percussion myself. Already a professional music educator, I had teaching experience in the secondary panel, I thought that I knew a bit about teaching - more than any other undergrad in the percussion program. However, Charles gave me one of the most brilliant axioms, which transformed my teaching career: Telling is not teaching. It was simple, brilliant; it was profound in terms of pedagogical practice; and it was ethical in terms of teaching standards. Twenty years later, this has been the centerpiece of my pedagogical practice to promote differentiated instruction.

For professional educators today, this axiom is worth consideration and contemplation, as it has the potential to transform teachers’ pedagogical practices in any subject domain. One may say, that this is a ‘progressive’ lens, whereby the teacher and learner are the same. For critical educators, this may be called praxis. In the Arts, students require demonstrations to understand the principles and mechanics of any physical skill. For example, in communicating the principles and physical mechanics of 4-mallet technique or play a clarinet over the break, it would be difficult for students to understand with only a verbal explanation. The human interaction of demonstration communicates with all the senses. In some cases, verbal explanations are sometimes unnecessary for learning. Excuse the tired phrase, but actions speak louder than words. If educators are unable to demonstrate their own craft, their pedagogical practices will be ineffective and inefficient. However, with this approach, educators will display a deep authenticity within their area of study, and they will have a more flexible and fluid pedagogical style.

BM