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!
About the Author
Ed Pearlman has focused on performing, teaching, and judging fiddle music for over 30 years, offering performances and workshops throughout the USA and in Canada and Scotland. His original training was with members of the Chicago and Boston Symphonies, and he played with orchestras and chamber groups at Yale and in Boston. He currently teaches privately at two music schools affiliated with music stores in Maine. Ed directed the Boston Scottish Fiddle Club in monthly workshops for 18 years, directed major concerts and festivals, and recorded 2 solo CDs and several with a fiddle orchestra and top soloists. In addition to Scottish and Cape Breton fiddle styles, Ed plays other Celtic, American, and Canadian fiddle music, classical and some jazz, klez and Hungarian. Ed created and for 11 years ran a CD distribution company to bring music to the USA from Scotland, Atlantic Canada, Ireland, Brittany and Wales. He's the music columnist for Scottish Life magazine.
by Stengel99 — Tue May 20, 2008 @ 11:16 pm
by Laetiseaya — Mon Jun 2, 2008 @ 5:34 am