Many teachers are looking to grow their studios, but some want to grow only in certain ways or at certain times, while others want to limit or even cut back on how many students they work with. The question is, how do teachers draw the line when we need to? Your comments on your experiences or policies in this regard would be interesting to many of us; just add your comment below.
Some musicians teach only kids, others only adults; one teacher I heard from will only teach men. Some types of students are not a good match for some types of teachers–are you able to identify these? Some teachers teach too many people in a day or in a week, or with no breaks, and risk burning out, or at least losing steam. But for many, it’s tough to turn someone down. Do you have limitations in your teaching? Do you turn people away, and if so, how?
With Music Teachers Helper, you can require students to register and then notify them if you have space, without explaining the situation. You can also keep people on your waiting list and contact them later.
Sometimes I have reached points where I will look over my student list and find combinations of students who are at the same level, and encourage them to try a class together. This keeps the students going but cuts back on my time commitment. Of course, it’s not only about my time–I also think it’s good for students to experience working together with other students.
My wife recently mentioned the idea of regulating how many of each kind of student I have, so that I have the right variety. Having students with different kinds of challenges is more stimulating than teaching mostly the same kind of student. But it’s new to me to actually plan what kind of mix of students I most prefer, and implement that. Most of the time my students seem to self-select and fit into available class and lesson times.
Generally, I find it very difficult to actually turn anyone down. But this is in effect what happens when I refer people to my MTH calendar and the available times are limited. (I offer new and prospective students a visitor’s username and password just to see my available times.) People usually understand when they can’t fit their schedule into mine and are often patient about waiting until there’s an opening.
This summer, when I expect to be in and out of town and feel some need to cut back on the teaching time, I’m doing two things: offering a couple of consolidated classes, and not putting up flyers announcing classes and lessons. By fall, I’ll have flyers up in town to publicize the startup of new classes and lessons for a new season.
As we grow our teaching studios, it’s important to sometimes prune them to keep them healthy and growing in a direction that nourishes us. It takes time to learn this, and even more time to learn how. Any tips or thoughts you’d like to share will surely be appreciated by readers of this blog–thanks!
by Stengel99 — Tue May 20, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
by Laetiseaya — Mon Jun 2, 2008 @ 5:34 am