Private Instruction

[sensei8]

Is it me or...?

Has anyone else noticed that private lessons are slowly becoming a thing of the past, kind of like a drive-in theater?

[Toptomcat]

In the broad-brush historical sense, yes, there has been a major transition away from the master-apprentice model of teaching and towards the group-class model. (See also: menkyo kaiden.) I'm not as sure about whether there's been a shorter-term move along the same lines, though.

[sensei8]

Toptomcat,

That's a very good point....a very good point!

Possibly it's easier to teach the mass against the one and in that, it bumps up the revenue!? Thereby lowering the controllables on a P&I by some margin, i.e., eliminating the number of classes per day, and in that, saves on the utilities and the payroll.

[ps1]

Is it me or...?

Has anyone else noticed that private lessons are slowly becoming a thing of the past, kind of like a drive-in theater?

They're still very big in BJJ.

To answer the post; if it's a good instructor, a private lesson is worth 10 or 15 hours of regular class instruction. You can get so many questions out of the way and get so many things fixed.

[DWx]

Possibly it's easier to teach the mass against the one and in that, it bumps up the revenue!? Thereby lowering the controllables on a P&I by some margin, i.e., eliminating the number of classes per day, and in that, saves on the utilities and the payroll.

It doesn't all have to be about the money side of it. I'm sure there are a lots of reasons why group tuition is favoured over one-to-one. Toptomcat's previous point about teachers being able to teach groups but not individuals is a good point. Time constraints too might be an issue.

[ninjanurse]

I wouldn't mind giving private lessons...just can't find the time to fit it in with class schedules, training, etc. Sometimes students are the recipient of a private when they are the only one who shows up for class!

[sensei8]

Possibly it's easier to teach the mass against the one and in that, it bumps up the revenue!? Thereby lowering the controllables on a P&I by some margin, i.e., eliminating the number of classes per day, and in that, saves on the utilities and the payroll.

It doesn't all have to be about the money side of it. I'm sure there are a lots of reasons why group tuition is favoured over one-to-one. Toptomcat's previous point about teachers being able to teach groups but not individuals is a good point. Time constraints too might be an issue.

I concur! It's not all about the money side of it. I tend to put the money side of it near the very top of any list because it can't be ignored totally. Time constraints as well as the points that Toptomcat brought up are valid, and they do can't be ignored totally.