Halibut Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I'm no fan of Michael Gove, but I think he's got something right. The Musicians Union have issued a warning to music teachers to avoid all physical contact with their pupils on the grounds that it could expose them to the risk of being accused of improper behaviour. Gove has written to them saying that their advice sends out the wrong message and plays to the climate of fear that surrounds the issue of adults and their relationships with children. I can think of loads of circumstances where it might be wholly appropriate for a music teacher to touch their pupil - and I know from having helped a couple of kids to have a go at playing guitar that sometimes it's really neccessary, positioning the fingers correctly for a chord for example. On the one hand I can see where the union is coming from - teachers of music are often alone with their pupils, and I daresay there may have been occasions where teachers have been falsely accused of innapropriate behaviour, but on balance, I think Gove has it right. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
123456A Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 No touching - ever. That means no problems - and every one in teaching works to the same set of rules. Otherwise you would have to work to specific and known 'touching' techniques and be prepared to be judged [perhaps in court or a tribunal] to determine if you exceeded the permissable options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noob Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 No touching - ever. That means you won`t learn the instrument. So whats the point in having music lessons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanes teeth Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I'm no fan of Michael Gove, but I think he's got something right. The Musicians Union have issued a warning to music teachers to avoid all physical contact with their pupils on the grounds that it could expose them to the risk of being accused of improper behaviour. Gove has written to them saying that their advice sends out the wrong message and plays to the climate of fear that surrounds the issue of adults and their relationships with children. I can think of loads of circumstances where it might be wholly appropriate for a music teacher to touch their pupil - and I know from having helped a couple of kids to have a go at playing guitar that sometimes it's really neccessary, positioning the fingers correctly for a chord for example. On the one hand I can see where the union is coming from - teachers of music are often alone with their pupils, and I daresay there may have been occasions where teachers have been falsely accused of innapropriate behaviour, but on balance, I think Gove has it right. What do you think? Sadly,I think you're probably right and indicative of the current paranoia that everybody who gets the chance will harm children. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyofborg Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 this is quite possibly the only sensible thing Gove has done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky3 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I considered becoming a teacher once. You have got to be insane with everything going on, especially with things like this highlight! I watched an episode of "Waterloo Road" where they installed cameras. On the surface it's the only way forward. But it's a sad state of affairs that it has come to that. However it's only through education, forethought and a freely operating justice system which has defined these standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadingNorth Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Gove has written to them saying that their advice sends out the wrong message and plays to the climate of fear that surrounds the issue of adults and their relationships with children. He's quite right. But how can he guarantee that a music teacher whose vindictive pupil claims to have been assaulted, will not end up driven out of the profession? At the moment, that's usually what happens to teachers who are wrongly accused. The only way they can reliably prevent such accusations is by never touching anybody, and everybody knowing that they never touch anybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melthebell Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 lol why just music teachers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medusa Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 So a music teacher who sees that a violin student has the wrong posture couldn't show the student how to improve their posture by moving their arm or how they held the instrument? What tosh! You could spend hours trying to explain how to improve your positioning when a simple 30 second motion would have done the job far better. Much as it pains me to agree with Michael Gove, he's got this one right. It's paranoia that reduces the teachers' ability to teach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Gobby Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 So a music teacher who sees that a violin student has the wrong posture couldn't show the student how to improve their posture by moving their arm or how they held the instrument? What tosh! You could spend hours trying to explain how to improve your positioning when a simple 30 second motion would have done the job far better. Much as it pains me to agree with Michael Gove, he's got this one right. It's paranoia that reduces the teachers' ability to teach. And it's not just with teaching music either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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