Introducing the animal kingdom—it's a jungle out there! - Pedagogy Saturday VI

American Music Teacher, Oct-Nov, 2002

Keith Golay is the creator of the "Temperament Teaching Model," and the author of the book Learning Patterns & Temperament Styles. He can be contacted by e-mail at kgolay@adelphia.net, by calling (714) 870-4355 or by writing to Fullerton Behavioral Health Center, 100 W. Valencia Mesa Dr. #203, Fullerton, CA 92835.

Andrew Hisey, Commentator

In my piano pedagogy courses over the years, students have been exposed to the ideas of Keith Golay, a familiar presenter and the author of Learning Patterns & Temperament Styles (1982). While students often resist the notion of categorizing or typing people, the underlying foundation of such an exercise is a valid one, leading to a closer analysis of teacher and student and a more careful exploration of the best ways of communicating, motivating and engaging students in the learning process. Even for one-on-one music teaching situations, where first impulse dictates reliance upon experience, observation, intuition and perception of the moment, an understanding of character traits and connotative labels to describe them can provide a great start to leading the "examined" life of teaching and learning.

As a backdrop for his thoughts, Golay reviewed with us the efforts of Freud, Sullivan, Adler and Maslow to see all humans as driven by desire or need for, respectively, pleasure, solidarity, competence or self-actualization. Each of them may have been partially right. Their thinking may have been flawed only in their wish to place all humans in the same category. Instead, using Golay's animal icons, our world is peopled with a mix of Freud's apes, Sullivan's bears, Adler's owls and Maslow's dolphins. Humans differences, how we think, act, want and feel, may well be "hard wired."

Golay's menagerie of apes, bears, owls and dolphins may not have changed much over the years, but his presentation, interwoven with personal and family anecdotes, elucidated his thoughts effectively. He has added to their resonance by discussing how each type functions as parent and teacher, not just as a learner.

"Apes" (Keirsey's sensory-perceptive temperament), Golay dubs "artisan" learners. They learn through action and intense concentration, following their impulses. They are playful, bold and value their freedom and sense of self-determination. As parents, Golay and Keirsey call the apes "liberators"; as teachers they are "experientialists." An ape's natural approach to teaching focuses on the doing and allows experience to be the primary teacher. Intuitively, these teachers will emphasize problem solving, skill building, performance and confidence development.

"Bears" (sensory-judgmental) are the "guardian" types. Responsible and reliable, these individuals care about belonging, knowing what is expected of them and fulfilling those expectations. "Bear" parents are concerned with respect and responsibility, routine and obedience, cooperation and conformity. Keirsey names them "socializers." Golay's descriptor for the "bear" teacher is "traditionalist." Her natural choice of materials will be the tried-and-true; her approach to teaching will reflect the desire to transfer traditional understanding and skills to a new generation.