Re: a teaching mistake
The only way to REALLY learn something is to make mistakes. By trying to make sure you never make a mistake, you ensure that you stop learning. Just make sure you correct it for the next time. Figure out what you did wrong, then try something else. Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is a good definition of insanity.
Enjoy everything you do. Enjoy making mistakes because it means that you are trying to learn. I like to make sure that when I am demonstrating a technique, I make sure that my uke is the person least likely to cooperate or least able to cooperate. That way, I get my practice and learning in while demonstrating so that the demonstration serves more than the single purpose. That way, I have a lot more fun when teaching. I just have to make sure that I don't spend too much time playing around when doing the demonstrations and make the students sit and watch too long instead of practicing.