"but my last teacher said..."

If you've had a so-called "transfer student" (a term I just detest—transfer from what? Of what? How? What exactly is the "transfer" process?" We're not running universities here. Back on track...), then you've probably heard, "But my last teacher said...". I've heard a range of reactions from teachers. In this post, I want to explore two in particular that I think should never be uttered.

"I'm your teacher now, and I decide how we do things"

...or something to that effect.

This attitude is counterproductive (even childish)—it won't get students on board. Well, it might, but for the wrong reasons, and students will have the wrong motivation and perhaps develop some resentment, even hurt, all of which will ultimately limit their learning potential. This is a kind of extrinsic motivation. The student complies to avoid getting in trouble or to please the teacher, not to learn. To maximise learning potential, we need to foster intrinsic motivation; we want students to comply because they believe it will benefit them and their learning.

"There's a reason I'm your teacher now; obviously, your last teacher didn't really know what they were doing."

...or something to that effect.

This doesn't foster a respectful and professional teacher-student relationship—it's kinda nasty and childish because, in this statement, the teacher is arguing with the child—a child! Even if the student is an adult, it's still argumentative and unprofessional. Again, this kind of attitude won't lead to the kind of motivation that maximises student learning. This statement also casts judgment on the previous teacher; judgment against what criteria? Obviously, our own, but how do we really know our criteria for teaching expertise and the method of assessment are right? How does anyone really know that they are expert teachers?

Is it because our students are happy? Maybe we're just really fun and nice. Is it because our students get A's in exams? But one-off assessments don't measure learning, and what and how they measure should be scrutinised, and then there's the teach-to-the-test approach. So, before we make assumptions or judgments, we need to ask ourselves what is our criteria for expertise, how do we measure it in these circumstances, and how do we know both our criteria and assessment mechanism are actually "right"? And let's not forget, we've all been a previous teacher. Teacher A thinks they know better than Teacher B and Teacher B thinks they know better than Teacher A. So, what's the point? There is no point. This kind of attitude does nothing but fuel egos and take the focus off what matters most: learning.

Issues in student learning are not cause for playing the blame game. Students (and teachers, by the way) always have something to improve upon, so it makes no sense to take a snapshot of a student's learning and think there is someone to blame for some learning that hasn't even taken place yet(!). Moreover, we have little to no information about the work the previous teacher did. I often hear complaints that a student still can't read music after a couple of years of learning with a previous teacher. But what do we know about that teacher's efforts? Nothing. All we can do is assess learning, not teaching. Who cares what happened before? The student hasn't learned something, so let's help them learn it. Blaming a previous teacher for gaps in learning is pure conjecture, and looking backward—let's look forward.

When tempted to blame the previous teacher, we need to stop and ask ourselves why we are blaming the previous teacher. What are we trying to achieve by doing that? What effect does it have on student learning? What difference does it make to our ability to diagnose issues in student learning and move learning forward?

So, when a student gives us the "But-my-last-teacher-said" argument, a good response might be:

Oh, that's interesting. Tell me more/show me how. ... That's a good way of doing things [whether you agree or not!]. Let me show you another good way because two good ways are better than one!

This statement is forward-looking and focuses on what matters most: learning. This statement validates the student; it shows that we value their input, respect their relationship with their previous teacher, and acknowledge their prior learning experiences, which we need to build upon, not tear down.