Alright, there's no need to shout!

I've been to a couple of great gigs this weekend. Both featured clients of mine, doing their very cool thing. In posts elsewhere, I have already given them a big shout-out, so that other people can enjoy their music too. In none of those posts did I say "oh by the way these people are MY clients who I trained and I am therefore responsible for their awesomeness. Because frankly, that attitude sucks. 
Singing teachers are no more responsible for their very talented students' successes than they are responsible for the shortcomings of the less able. Our job is to teach people how to make the most of their voices, to guide them, to show them the best techniques known to us at any given moment, and then to celebrate whatever successes and achievements come their way. Our job is not to use those successes as cheap advertising...
The fact is, if you're good at what you do as a teacher, there should be no need to shout about it. Advertise, sure; have a decent marketing strategy, certainly; network and make people aware of the services that you offer, by all means. But when your advertising and marketing strategy involves rubbishing your competitors or industry colleagues, or publishing endless videos of your top students, or endless videos of yourself in all your awesomeness, it's all gone a bit too far, for me. 
The simple fact is, if you feel the need to shout from the rooftops on constant repeat about how awesome you are, then you're not. If you're really great, others will do your shouting for you. 

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