Simpedia

Jy G. California

I just reread this post from Gordon eons ago, and thought that it is a great time to repost it…

Gordon Harvey. AU

In this situation in the past I’ve spoken to the person, or sent a letter or email (I wouldn’t go as far as phoning them just to have the conversation, I’ve simply responded through a similar medium to the one they used) saying something along the lines of:

Thanks for letting me know, and good luck with the teacher you’ve chosen. Please keep in mind that not everyone succeeds in traditional lessons, and if after a period of time you find your child is becoming frustrated or isn’t progressing to your satisfaction, don’t take that to mean that she isn’t musical, because that certainly isn’t the case. I’ve had many students who have come to me after being unhappy with their current lessons, who have invariably succeeded just as well as any other Simply Music student. As a guide to your child’s success, I recommend asking this question: how many pieces can she actually play and how musically can she play?

Once again, good luck and thank you etc.

I think I’ve had one or two students end up back with me, which isn’t much, but I still feel that this response potentially makes a contribution to the student, and leaves me feeling complete.

It’s also worth reminding yourself that you don’t really know what another person’s priorities are. What you’re thinking is that you offer the best method available and it’s as simple as that, but for the enquirer that may not be the only consideration, and not necessarily the most important one. They may also be thinking about convenience, cost, personality and who knows what else, and they may not even have considered the differences between SM and the other teacher’s approach. Just because they didn’t enroll with you doesn’t mean you’ve failed, although it highlights an area that you can look further into to reduce the chance of it happening again.

Cheers,
Gordon Harvey