"Figures of Argentine Tango" page

[AndaBien]

Unfortunately, the word teacher was not used years ago. All instructors were called instructors. A teacher implies having a degree which most dance teachers do not possess. And if you want to be really correct about it today- than start calling them "dance coaches".

By the way are those so called dance teachers you are talking about have a dance degree as in BSA from a recognized university???

You sure do like to debate the meaning of words. You ought to fit right in here.

I've heard the Argentines use the word maestro often, which translates into "teacher". Many of their maestros have no degrees, and don't need them.

 

[bordertangoman]

-A teacher has found his own personal approach to the matter, whereas an instructor simply echos someone else experiences.

-A teacher is kind of a coach that guides you along your own individual way. An instructor looks for you during classes and lessons.

-A teacher is found by the student. With the instructor it is the other way round.

ah, so, grasshopper.....

I was given the tongue in cheek title sensei

There is also the question of what makes one a sensei. When one teaches, one is a sensei. But one might not be a sensei if one is not teaching. It depends on what one teaches. If one teaches Aikido techniques, one is a teacher only on the tatami. If one teaches only on the tatami for a few hours, it is inconvenient to keep changing one’s title on and off the tatami. People who are called sensei are supposed to behave as a teacher in daily life as well. In this way people can continue to refer to them as sensei without the need for a change of titles.

This creates a new question: How should a teacher behave in his daily life? Zen Buddhism began the idea of understanding life. It suggests that when one understands life, one feels as if one is newly born. Sen means before and Sei means to be born. So sensei literally means a person who is born before. This birth is a spiritual, not physical birth. The original meaning of sensei is one who is spiritually born before others. If one sticks to the original meaning, only those who understand life should be called sensei and a sensei is behaving like a teacher 24 hours a day, even in his daily life.

from the Ki Society webpage

 

[opendoor]

As a TaiJi practitioner I am more familiar with the term Sifu:

From wiki: The character 師 means “teacher”. The meaning of 傅 is “tutor”, and of 父 , “father”.

 

[dchester]

I always thought that teacher and instructor more or less meant the same thing. Not sure where I got that from.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teacher
Definition of TEACHER
: one that teaches; especially : one whose occupation is to instruct
_______________

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/instructor
Definition of INSTRUCTOR
: one that instructs : teacher; especially : a college teacher below professorial rank
_______________


http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/teacher
teacher
noun
*
a person who teaches, especially in a school.
_______________

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/instructor
instructor
noun
*
a person who teaches something:a driving instructor
*
North American a university teacher ranking below assistant professor.

 

[opendoor]

Not enough with teacher, instructor, sifu, laoshi, sensei, master, guru, and lama:

Not only in martial arts you´ve got the phenomenon of in-door and out-door students (which got nothing to do with the location of the dance floor).

Here in Hamburg we call in-door tango students generally suck-lambs or poussin (spring chicken).

 

[opendoor]

Carlos Gavito on his teachers

http://www.tangoitu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=636&Itemid=1

Before we go any further I would like to mention my teachers, I made a promise to always mention them, in contrary to many tango dancers. I didn´t have dance teachers, I only had tango teachers. One was Julián Centeya, he was a poet and he was my best teacher... because he taught me tango from the inside. The other teacher I would like to mention is Miguel Caló. I worked with him and his orchestra in Bs.As. around 1963. He would say "listen to the music and now listen to the voice of Raúl Berón only, dance the voice, just the voice, now dance the piano" a.s.o....