Tasks 4b & 4c: SIG's and Developing Questions Within My Professional Community

I have recently been looking through some blogs to try and identify some useful sources for my research. I am having a bit of difficult doing so as I haven't seemed to come across many people with such a specific interest as mine. However I HAVE managed to discuss some of my questions and ideas with my private pupils, their parents and also some old peers who are now teaching themselves.

I have mainly been focussing on the questions I have regarding teaching and whether it is deemed necessary to have teaching qualifications or whether experience is more preferable. After collating my notes I have come up with the following answers...

Are a teachers qualifications more important to a student than a teachers experience or credits?
No. Most students find it more interesting when their teacher has some experience of working themselves say in the West End or in a Recording Studio. The fact that their teacher has done such things gives the pupils a sort of 'wow' factor. The evidence of this is that when trying to engage a class some teachers find it helps to give an example of a job or experience they have had as this prompts the students to ask questions and spark their interest to keep them engaged. Often if you have worked in a well-renowned show or with a famous company/person a student will take on the task in hand as though if they achieve this then it may be them one day working for/with a famous company/person. It gives them something to aspire to be or achieve.

Further from this question a topic and further question that arose was..

Does having qualifications make a teacher a 'good' teacher?
The general consensus was no it doesn't. Not because qualifications don't stand for anything where teaching is concerned but because you could have a teacher with all of the qualifications in the world yet they may have no industry experience or previous teaching experience which may in fact hinder their ability to teach as effectively as is possible. You can't learn experience in a classroom.

I will continue to ask my other questions within my professional community as and when I see the members and once I have do so I will continue to blog the answers!