Traditional education’s place in international schools | A conversation with Dan Guerrard

Do traditional teaching methods still have a place in the modern international school? Are things like textbooks, call and response or direct instruction still valuable. If your school is grappling with these questions, this episode is for you.

This episode features my conversation with Dan Guerrard, an experienced music teacher based in Penang. We delve into a crucial discussion on teaching approaches, the use of workbooks and textbooks, and the importance of traditional methodologies in international education.

Episode Summary:

We kick off the episode by navigating the "black or white mentality" dominating the education sphere. Dan brings to light the importance of avoiding categorizing teaching methods strictly as good or bad, emphasizing the necessity for nuance and context.

Dan passionately advocates for the use of workbooks in international education. He underscores the benefits they offer, particularly for English as an additional language learners and transient students. Workbooks, as per Dan, provide a tangible resource for students to review and track their learning progress.

Key Quotes

"A workbook is actually incredibly useful for [students] to be able to go away and just look back over the work that they've been doing."_ - Dan Guerrard

In a captivating segment of our discussion, we explore the often controversial topic of textbooks in education. Dan shares an intriguing anecdote about a school discarding textbooks, illustrating the prevalent yet misguided belief that "no good teacher uses textbooks". We discuss the potential advantages and drawbacks of textbooks, ultimately agreeing that textbooks are merely resources that can be beneficial if utilized thoughtfully, not just blindly followed.

The conversation shifts to the value of a more traditional teaching approach, with music education as the focal point. Dan expresses his concern about wasted opportunities in music education where students spend significant time without gaining substantial skills or knowledge.

"What have they learned in 360 hours of music tuition?... They spend most of the time, keyboards and messing around in groups."_ - Dan Guerrard

We wrap up our conversation discussing strategies to implement more traditional teaching methods. Dan suggests that starting with Rosenstein's principles of instruction could be a good way to initiate this shift.

"If you're going to try to get everybody to buy into something… you've got to do something which people will struggle to reject." - Dan Guerrard

Key Links:

Traditional Primary Music Blog: traditionalprimarymusic.com/

You can find Dan on Twitter: @DanGuerrard

Rosenstein's principles of instruction – Playlist from Tom Sherrington

Dan Guerrard's insights challenge us to question traditional stances and to continuously strive for improvement in the way we approach teaching and learning.

Find me on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @leaningshane

You can also find me on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/leaningshane

Join Shane's Intensive Leadership Programme at educationleaders.co/intensive

Shane Leaning, an organisational coach based in Shanghai, supports school leaders globally. Passionate about empowment, he is the author of the best-selling 'Change Starts Here.' Shane is a leading educational voice in the UK, Asia and around the world.

You can find Shane on LinkedIn and Bluesky. or shaneleaning.com

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