Dear Ingo, et al,
Never throw anything away if it might be useful.
NOTE: Sometimes what we think of as "useful" can change as we gain
more knowledge and experience.
Document, document, document. Documentation is essential if you want
to use that data to its maximum benefit. You may find that if you
listen to each tape and make a list of everything that it addressed
during each lesson, that deciding which tapes to keep may be less
daunting. If it's a tape of a productive lesson during which you
solved a problem, especially one that you might encounter again, keep
it for heaven's sake! At the very least, extract the portions of the
lessons that you find most valuable and place them on a master
recording, preferrably a CD. Take your time and be careful. Some of
the sessions you might think were the worst might have taught you the
most.
I have a friend who studied with the same teacher I did (Everett
Anderson) at USF, Tampa (Hey Rosie!). She has amassed a collection of
tapes from quite a few of his former students from as long ago as
1976. I find that there is more to learn from those few I've heard
several years ago, than there was when I studied with him.
I listen from a teacher's AND a student's perspective now. Back then,
all I wanted to do was perform. I never dreamed I'd actually love to
teach. I am trying to see what I can learn from his sessions in order
to be just a fraction of as good a teacher as those tapes remind me
he was.
If nothing else, extract the best parts of each lesson. Make sure you
make detailed labels for each tape that locates and specifies exactly
what happened and exactly when in each lesson. I promise you'll get
more out of your lessons and you'll learn some very valuable
documentation skills in the bargain. You payed good money for those
lessons so be sure to get every penny's worth from them you can. The
best of luck to you.
Regards,
Les
|
