Shared lesson, different learners
Found in: Scheduling, Shared Lessons
Francine V., Western Australia
I was wondering if there might be any quick solutions for this: Two girls, same age, been together in shared lesson for couple of years are about to start level 4.
- Girl 1 is ready, girl 2 is not.
- Girl 1 does arrangements, composition, improvising, accompaniment.
- Girl 2 is struggling through the basic level 3 songs, without anything else, and forgets older songs.
- Girl 1 needs to start new level so she is moving ahead.
- Girl 2 needs more time on current level. She really tries hard, she does practice at home, but she just takes longer and needs more help.
I want to put girl 2 with another student on a different day who would be perfectly matched, but they aren’t available on that day.
I have thought I might need to split them up and do both private, but I am making it a habit of doing this, as most of my students are now in private lessons because it was getting too hard for me to manage them as shared, and I don’t want all my students to be private.
There’s got to be a trick – what is it?
Kerry V., Australia
One thing Neil said many years ago and has stuck in my head. “If a problem exists for all or most teachers is it my problem. If it an isolated problem the problem belongs to the teacher” (not verbatim). Every time I have something happen in my studio, I look at this statement. For example, if my students are leaving, what is the common denominator? Then I take appropriate action to avoid this from happening again.
In the case of getting into a habit of students being moved to private I would ask myself, ‘am I teaching groups in an effective or efficient way that supports ALL people in the group not just one or a few? If you conclude there is a ‘way’ in which you are teaching that may not be conducive to group lessons then you are able to correct it or search for answers. If you deduce that it is simply the situation you have been attracting to your studio what could you do to stop this from happening? It may well be that you are not ‘matching’ people as well as you could have. It may be that you have been anxious in putting a group together that you forgot what the personalities of these people were from the SIS you conducted with them. Up front and honest questioning may show you where you are.
Are you still nervous about teaching groups? Unsure how to go about it? Don’t really want to teach groups? Any question you come up with may have a little gem in it.
Remember, do not be fooled into thinking that a student is knowing SM because they can play well. Can these ‘advanced’ students tell you the diagram to the songs, break it down, tell you the sequences etc.? If not then why not? You may be surprised in many cases the ‘slower’ student actually connects to the ‘way of SM teaching’ far better than the one who ‘plays’ well.
A few things to look at and hopefully you can move forward in strength in groups because of the answer that holds within you now. You knowing better how to work within your own studio.
Laurie Richards, Nebraska
Girl 2 should definitely not continue into Level 4, and it sounds like that’s not your intention anyway. Perhaps you can work out a different, mutually agreeable time for her and the other student who is a perfect match. I have found it extremely helpful with scheduling issues to communicate in a specific manner. For example:
“We really need to get Jane in a class that will allow her to flourish at a more appropriate pace. She’s doing a great job, and I don’t want her to become discouraged or miss any of the great content. The possible class times I have are Mondays at 4:00 or Thursdays at either 4:30 or 6:30. Can you make one of those times work for her?”
versus
“Would you be willing to change your class time? I have one on Wednesdays I hope will work out.” OR “What would your schedule allow?” (I have learned never to say this!)
Obviously you would probably have a more in-depth conversation about her overall experience. The gist is that you define your own business hours and requirements (e.g. no private students) and communicate those to your studio families. The scheduling issues may not be a big deal for teachers who maintain small studios. However, it can really start to encroach on your time and your business’s profitability if you try to be too accommodating with schedules. Believe me, people will take full advantage of that, and it doesn’t take long for the frustrating results to become evident.