I have to disagree with the previous review of The Yamaha Music Center. My five year old has been…read moreattending the Beginners class for the past 6 months and we are very pleased with it. I don't know if his child's teacher was the same as my daughter's but I have a feeling she is. Miss Gloria, as the students call her, is fabulous, in my opinion. It is obvious that she herself is very talented musically and she runs a very engaging, fun, and active class. It is true that she runs the class at a fast pace, but, as a teacher myself, I know that with this age group, one must keep them moving. She does a great combination of seated piano work and a more active 'get-up-on-your-feet' time, where the students put movements to lyrics of song or do Solfege. She is, in fact, very strict about discipline and behavior, but I appreciate this greatly because it maximizes the students' learning and minimizes wasted time, eliminating the chance that kids will just be goofing around and, therefore, increasing the value of the class. She is in no way stern, though, as she is effusive with praise and encourages the students at every turn. At every lesson, students are rewarded with either two or three stickers (a universally loved reward, it seems, for any age) depending on how well they followed the day's lesson. The bottom line is that the students enjoy the class, they are engaged, and they learn something. They also respect their teacher greatly and they follow her guidance intently. She encourages the students to practice (essential to musical training and a good discipline to establish) at home so that they can be even more prepared once they get to class.
Just a side note because I need to rant. Since when do teachers have to be liked? I'm in no way suggesting that Miss Gloria is unlikeable in any way, but, to me, why should it matter if she is? Teachers need to be respected, especially when they are teachers like Miss Gloria who have a lot of great knowledge to impart. Education is not about liking the teacher. Teaching shouldn't be a popularity contest where teachers are judged by how entertaining they are. How spoiled and lazy our society has become when we expect this from our teachers. Education should be about gaining knowledge, discipline, and skills that last a lifetime. Accomplishing something like learning the piano will bring with it a reward much deeper than merely liking a teacher for a short period of time in your life. Forget about whether you like the teacher. Respect should grow from whether the teacher has something to teach and can do so, not whether or not she/he is likeable.