A young student sits in the living room of his instructor while the instructor and his family eat in the next room. The instructor occasionally mumbles some corrections between mouthfuls.
Or, a kid taking a lesson from a would-be rock star. The rock-star jams for most of the lesson and asks the kid what he wants to know without ever really showing him how to do anything.
Or, "I don't actually play guitar but I can read music. So I can guide you through the books."
These are just some of the horror stories I heard when I began teaching. When I spoke with college teachers they always complained about the poor quality of students that were auditioning for them. Compared to the violin or piano students, the guitar students were far, far behind. But it's no wonder. Most music students had the benefit of a teacher who pushed and prodded them to a level of quality that was acceptable to the college. Guitarists didn't have that advantage, or the acquired skills of time management and efficient practice habits.
I'm a self-taught guitarist with no college degree. It never occurred to me that I would end up teaching college for 30 years. But college programs were springing up all over the country and if guitarists were going to keep up with the other musicians, the applicants had to be a lot better. I decided that I could make a difference at that level. The word that permeated my thoughts was "professionalism".
Looking back I realize that I was at the right place in history. Young teachers all over the place were raising the standards to levels that far out-paced the older ones. Classical guitar was gaining in popularity around the world and if you could teach it you could support yourself.
I have been lucky to have been associated these past 3 decades with some of the finest and most professional music teachers imaginable. The standards that I aspired to then are higher now. I'm a better musician and educator because of them and I can't believe that I get to hang out with them.
I recently got a message from a former student. He was bringing me up-to-date on his life and career in music. He concluded with "I feel fortunate to have had your influence during my early music training." That's the dividend of a life invested in music education.