Hi!

I wonder if there are any thoughts on this scenario?

I have a very bright 8 year old girl who's a very promising student. The subject of having lots of extra activities outside of school has been talked about at length in another thread...This is one of those pupils!

She's just taken on yet another actvity - gym I think. Anyway, half an hour before she was due to arrive this week, her mother called and said she would be round as normal, but is it OK if she only has a lesson every 2 weeks now instead of weekly? As I had another pupil just arriving, I said I'd phone her back to discuss it...

When the girl arrived half an hour later she mentioned something similar, and I said I'd be speaking to her mum later on. Also... This week was "payment" day, and instead of the usual 4 weeks in advance, (they get a note the week before), I was given money for just the one lesson. Obviously this decision has been made and it's been assumed I'll be OK with that...

If I insist she comes weekly, I could end up losing the pupil, which I don't want. I thought about explaining why it wouldn't be ideal, and hopefully they will understand. If not, would it be unreasonable to say that if I get another pupil who intends to come weekly in that time slot, I will have to move the one who comes fortnightly? After all, I would be losing half the money for that time, which is a popular after-school one.

I'd be grateful for any thoughs! Thanks!

If you agree to a fortnightly lesson you could make it an hour instead of half an hour?

Hi,

I have a few who come once a fortnight BUT they all have unpopular slots - 8 or 8.30 pm and they are in the 6th form, post-grade 8 and have an hour. A few parents of younger children have asked me if I will do this, and I have politely explained that little progress will be made at a young age with lessons so far apart, and that I will also have a redundant 1/2 every other week. Do what you think is best!

At this age a lesson once a fortnight is not enough. If she is unwell and misses a lesson she will be a whole month with one and she will be unlikely to practise regularly. I don't think that it is a workable situation and I would tell the parent so. In an ideal world young children would have two lessons weekly, not one a fortnight. I think that you will have to explain that you cannot do lesssons every two weeks at her age. She will need to make a choice of what activities to do and what to drop if she wants to be a pianist. There are plenty of keen pupils to be found. You might do better with one of these. Sorry to be negative, but I have been in this situation several times in the past and it never worked. Now I simply refuse any such requests, at least until the pupil is much older. Even then it is not always a good solution.

Thank you everyone. Yes I have to say I've never had a pupil do that yet, and I don't like the idea of a child going so long between lessons. It's easier to correct a bad habit after one week than two, by which time it might be firmly ingrained!

Also, I only have so many "slots" in a day where I can teach, due to family, so each one is quite precious!

I suspect that one of two things happens if you agree to fortnightly lessons -

Either - keen pupil - works hard for 2 weeks between lessons - then you spend twice as long unlearning the mistakes / poor technique that inevitably creep in

Or - busy / lazy pupil - no practice at all in week 1, scrappy practice in week 2 - no progress.

In any case, less time to fit in aural, sight reading and other bits and pieces.

I think a lot of kids do far too many activities and life becomes a merry-go-round of lessons, the majority of which will not continue into later life. The other important point is that the child needs time to practice, and if she is continually on the go after school every day and weekends, when is practice going to happen? A lot of other activities don't require effort in between the sessions. If the parent doen't understand your point of view, you are on a slippery slope.

Be firm now and save yourself headaches later.

Do you want to join the Grumpy Old Women club, Sue???

Ad libitum, I don't think this is workable situation either, and I'd go along with what several others have said.

As well as the half-hearted nature of having a lesson only every two weeks, it would not be fair to turn down a potential 100% weekly student in order to keep a space open for a 50% -er.

Sign me up immediately, I am feeling particularly cantankerous and intolerant this morning. The youth of today...

I've had a couple of adult pupils come for fortnightly lessons this year, taking turns in the same time slot, and it has worked quite well, although I must say I'd still prefer to see them weekly!

One of them has now said that from next term he does want to come weekly, which is great, but it means that the fortnightly pupil will have to fit in with any cancellations I have from then on, and take those times, because I'm not holding a slot open to be used only fortnightly, and it's highly unlikely that anyone else could fill the gaps!

With the young ones, I wouldn't even think of lessons less frequently than weekly, for the reasons other posters have given .

I would agree that once a fortnight is not enough......I tried it for a while with an older pupil and now she is back weekly again it is much better....

I have had a couple of pupils do fortnightly lessons. I have an adult who does an hour a fortnight and that works ok, but with younger people an hour is sometimes too long and the concentration goes. The other problem is if something goes wrong, and the child either doesn't do the work as they don't understand, or they misunderstand and practice it all wrong. A nightmare to undo after a fortnight. In the end of the day it was very wrong of them to 'assume' you would be ok with this. If they can't come weekly, and there happens to be a school trip/swimming gala/gymnastics competition on the day of their lesson, that would be a month without lessons, which is just not good enough from your point of view.
I suppose what I am trying to say is that it didn't really work for me, and to think about it carefully. If they're fairly new to you, it could be the start of a pattern which involves mucking you about lots.

Thanks again all!

Just dropping in before my last pupil arrives

I have plenty to think about now when I phone the mum later on. As Susie said, I think I'm feeling a bit miffed about the way it's been handled. I don't think half an hour before the girl's lesson was a good time to phone to dicuss it, and yes, it does appear that not much thought has been given to how an arrangement like that would affect me! It's just been assumed she will miss one week and attend the next etc...

The new class the girl mentioned was also on a Sunday, so I couldn't quite see the problem, but I have a feeling she's been asked to drop or cut down on something.

I think it's been mentioned in another thread a parent who rapidly changed the subject when asked this question........

It's a very valid question though isn't it?

I'll need to approach it carefully, but I think I need to be firm on where I stand. The parents aren't musical themselves, so maybe don't realise the work/commitment involved?

Beyond a doubt!


Quite possibly.

At any age.

Could it be that money is an issue? I have quite a few students who come fortnightly, and still progress, if they work between lessons. Some just can't afford weekly lessoms.

When I had lessons last year they were basically every fortnight, largely because of what my teacher was charging and my poor budget, and I still progressed. I may have got further with weekly lessons but fortnightly still worked. That was at diploma level though, and I'm not sure it would have worked at a lower level.

I think it is unreasonable to expect teachers to have empty spaces in their timetables on alternate weeks and certainly not reasonable for parents simply to assume that a change from weekly to fortnightly lessons will be fine.

I have a family of four who come on a roundabout basis. We simply blocked an hour and three quarters and I take whoever comes. The eldest boy can’t be very regular because he is at boarding school and his exits are very limited. So far it’s worked reasonably well despite the long gaps between lessons which can occur. I also have two sisters who alternate – again because the elder is a weekly boarder with a heavy homework load on the weekends when she does get home. The younger is in her first year of piano and it’s a slower start than it would have been with weekly lessons. The elder simply didn’t want to give up when she got sent to boarding school (where there is no possibility of having lessons or even of practising). We just do what we can.

I did once have an adult who rang me regularly to say she wasn’t coming because she hadn’t practised and didn’t want to waste her money paying for a lesson. She was one of the reasons why I insisted that the association for which I work made it plain that pupils pay for missed lessons. However, I have forgiven her. She gave up piano because she was getting married and eight years later has sent me her quite talented and delightful little boy – every week - but then he practises regularly!

I had an adult who used to phone and cancel for that reason.
I charged for the missed lessons as she'd had a copy of my conditions and knew that is how it works.
Sometimes adults, like children, don't realise what having to practice between lessons really means and find out that learning an instrument takes a bit more effort than they imagined.

It does seem there is a bit of a problem with the expense of so many activities. The girl is so good at everything though, and doesn't want to drop anything completely, hence this new suggestion.

I only got to speak to dad and he was very understanding about my concerns, but briefly explained the situation. Mum will ring me for a chat (she's the one to talk to, as is so often the case!).

I can see how difficult it must be - faced with not wanting to disappoint your child. I know I shouldn't feel bad, as I'm probably worse off than they are.

To be honest it makes me feel a bit awkward now, as I'd prefer not to know someone's financial situation. It makes me feel a bit "on the spot" if that makes sense?

I would only agree to once a fortnight lessons if they themselves can provide a pupil who would take the alternative weeks. If you really feel you want to keep this pupil, then how about they suggest they come to the last lesson of the evening - that way every other week you would get an early night and it would stop an inconvenient gap in your teaching? I would also stress the fact that their progress will be only half as good as it would be if they came every week.. Fortnightly lessons only work for very motivate pupils.

Son Viohazard had fortnightly lessons from age 7 until about 2 years ago (??can't quite remember??) on classical guitar.

However, his teacher didn't have anybody waiting for lessons at that particular time and venue (he teaches in different suburbs on different days). His teacher only teaches 3 weeks per month, so there are often fortnightly gaps in any case.

His progress on guitar has undoubtedly been slower.

I worried quite a lot about the possibility of bad habits setting in, but that has not happened any more than with violin.

Getting bored with pieces between lessons *was* a problem at times, but he would simply teach himself something new.

One reason why it has "worked" is that guitar was his second instrument, so he already had 3 years of music, and understood that he needed to practice.

To be honest it makes me feel a bit awkward now, as I'd prefer not to know someone's financial situation. It makes me feel a bit "on the spot" if that makes sense?

I do understand how you feel about that - but I think you should put it on one side. It's not your problem. You have to make a living. I don't mean to sound harsh - but if they have bitten off more than they can chew, it is not your responsibility. If they made you feel bad it's not really on - I hope they didn't !

Once a fortnight isn't on unless it's the last spot of the teaching session, or in school hours, and it's unfair of this family to expect you to manage this. I'd tell them (nicely) that your lessons in the after-school slot are weekly and they can take it our leave it. If this child is doing a lot of after-school activities then it's not a financial thing but a matter of priorities, and if they can't prioritise your lessons enough for her to see you weekly, then they've got their priorities wrong and they just don't understand what it takes to learn a musical instrument.

I'm doing an experiment with a new 7-year-old pupil and giving her twice-weekly lessons. It was meant to be just for the first month to get her going in the right way, but it's worked so well that they've decided to continue with it! It's brilliant and she's progressing amazingly well - the complete opposite of how it would have been with fortnightly lessons.

Just tell them that if she's serious about her lessons it's got to be once a week or not at all. If they decide to leave it you'll soon find someone else to fill her slot.

Violinia

[quote name='Violinia' date='May 5 2007, 11:11 AM' post='507749']

I'm doing an experiment with a new 7-year-old pupil and giving her twice-weekly lessons. It was meant to be just for the first month to get her going in the right way, but it's worked so well that they've decided to continue with it! It's brilliant and she's progressing amazingly well - the complete opposite of how it would have been with fortnightly lessons.

Just tell them that if she's serious about her lessons it's got to be once a week or not at all. If they decide to leave it you'll soon find someone else to fill her slot.

Violinia
[/quote

I did the same thing last year with a young student - she'd been having lessons once a week and started to enjoying playing so much (after a rather slow start initially) that her mum asked if she could start coming twice a week. As you say, Violinia, the progress is amazing! She's actually back to once a week now (mostly due to finances, I think) but it made a huge difference and she's now about to take Grade 1.
As everyone else has said, fortnightly lessons just won't work with young students and perhaps the reasons need to be spelled out to parents who suggest it.

Yes I'll try not to let it influence anything, as they could always have dropped something other than piano!

I don't think it would have been said deliberately to make me feel bad, but just knowing that is the situation makes me feel for the girl anyway.

No one has phoned back as yet. As someone else suggested, I had thought of simply moving her to a more convenient time for me, when I wouldn't normally have a pupil anyway. To be honest I think I may just stick with "all or nothing" as it could end up that her playing does suffer, (it seems likely), and that would be another situation to deal with.

I really appreciate all the feedback - thanks!