I have a few students in my studio who are considered child prodigies for their pace of learning and performance abilities. A couple of them have developed incredible chemistry with me and this makes lessons dynamic and packed full of learning. These are the students that make teaching exciting and fun.
I also have a few students who would be considered average to slightly above learners and performers, but also have incredible chemistry with me in lessons. Along with great parent communication and a few other positives, this produces a student who is seen as talented and well above average. But sometimes I wonder what it would be like if that student had a teacher that they didn’t have chemistry with. Would they flounder?
Put more susinctly:
How important is student-teacher chemistry?
With the right fit, can an average student become a star student?
With the wrong teacher, can a star student become an average student?
I think it’s hard to say, but designing an experiment to find the answer would be exciting. My intuition says that student-teacher chemistry really matters, but with so many factors involved, it may not.
What do you think, how important is student-teacher chemistry?
JT