Claiming Territory
Student is repeatedly claiming territory
I’m needing a bit of encouragement here. I have an adult student who has learned a lot of songs and practices a lot but has claimed territory on a number of occasions. I have had “the talk” with her a few times (that if she…
Parents taking extra notes
I discovered a parent taking extra notes in her own notebook. I have two of her kids. One is older and takes his own notes, so in her notebook she took notes on the arrangement for herself only. She promised it was only for her…
Students learning from music book
I have an 11-year-old that has been learning with me and I have just learned that she is teaching herself from the music book and NOT looking at the videos or listening to the audio files. I couldn’t quite work out what was going on;…
Student having difficulty with reference clues
One of my new students is progressing quite well but she says she doesn’t find all the reference clues helpful although I take time to explain them. Some she gets but not others. Tonight when I was teaching Chester Chills Out, she said she needed…
Acquiring students from other teachers
I have the wonderful opportunity to expand my studio by taking on someone else’s students. While it’s a bit intimidating to me as a newer teacher (1 1/2 years), I look forward to the challenge. The good news is that I’m licensed in the levels…
Bullying Parent
This past week I had a horrid encounter. A parent, during class, was very rude, arrogant, and aggressive in his manner towards me and and SM program. He is usually in a group with other parents/kids, but this week he and his child were on…
New idea: Remote Practice Management
I’ve got a question about a potentially new way to manage practicing. We think some of our prospects aren’t signing up for lessons because of the requirement that a parent be present in the lessons. Many parents today are quite busy and often say they…
Thoughts about Teaching Seniors
A couple of weeks ago there was quite a bit of discussion here about teaching older students. This may have been addressed, but I had a conversation with a dear teacher last week about how strict we all seem to be about requiring that everyone…
Redefining ‘Learning Difficulties’
I had a first grade student in her first shared lesson. This was her first SM music lesson, but she has had previous Suzuki lessons. She just covered her ears and refused to participate after the first instruction. I visited with her mother after the…
Playlist Review
The question has come up, “How do I review the playlist each week in a timely manner?” I’d like to suggest some things and open this up to more of you contributing your ideas of how to manage this important component of lessons. If…
