Makeup Lessons
There will be one makeup lesson for missed lessons per semester. At the end of each semester I will set aside a day or two to do makeup lessons for those who have had to miss a lesson.
Sometimes conflicts arise, planned or unplanned, and you will have to, or will choose to, miss a lesson. Whatever the reason (sick, out of town, school activity, too much homework, don’t feel like coming, etc.) there will be only one makeup lesson given each semester.
If I cancel lessons, there is no charge to you.
Illness
Please do not bring sick children to lessons. It is very hard to focus and learn when you are feeling sick, so the lesson will not be as productive as possible. There is one makeup lesson per semester, hopefully that will be enough and illness will not strike any one person twice. But, since we are now experts at online lessons, if a student has the sniffles or a regular cold (contagious, but feels ok), an online lesson will be fine; if your child is really ill, let’s reschedule. Please use your best judgement. We don’t have to worry about spreading a common cold or flu doing FaceTime lessons, but I do want my students to be able to focus and have fun in lessons. Thank you for your understanding of this.
Inclement weather
Another silver lining of learning how to do online lessons – no worries about what to do in inclement weather! We can have lessons as usual, unless we need a mental health day.
Attendance
Each student has one reserved lesson time each week. Your tuition payment covers your reserved lesson time. If you miss it (except for one makeup per semester), you still pay for it. Of course, if I miss a lesson, you do not pay.
If you must miss a lesson, please call, text or email to let me know that you will not be coming.
Lesson time
Lessons times are not exact. I am always aware of the clock and do my best to stay on time. But if you have a 30 minute lesson, we will not be “working” the entire 30 minutes. There is a transition period between students, getting packed up and unpacked, and this time is important for me to talk with the student and find out about his/her day so that I have an idea of how to direct the lesson as mood and energy level play a big factor in the type of work we can do. It is also important for me to be able to get to know each student so that we build trust and for me to learn what they are interested in and how they learn. All of this makes lessons more productive both short and long term. Sometimes lessons might run long if we are doing good work near the end of the lesson and it is important to finish what we are doing. Occasionally lessons might be cut a little short if the student is having a rough time, or if we have covered everything that needs to be covered and going longer would only be an exercise in “checking out”. I respect the busy schedules everyone has and the financial commitment of lessons, so I do my best to stay as close to the set lessons times as possible, without being restricted by the clock in a way that hurts the learning process.
Recitals
Performance is a necessary and wonderful part of learning to play an instrument. Often it takes 3-6 months to learn a piece and the performance is a reward for the student, the family and the teacher. It is also an incentive for the student to learn and practice what is being taught at the lesson and take it to a very high level. Recitals are not just for the performer, but also for all the students to meet and hear each other. It is inspiring for more advanced students to see how far they’ve come when they see beginners, and it’s similarly inspiring for beginners to see how far they can go and what is possible. There is a fee for recitals to cover the cost of the church and pianist. Recitals are mandatory.
Recitals are usually in January and June.
Communication
I like to keep our lesson time 100% devoted to teaching your child. If you would like to speak about progress, lesson times and schedules, or other issues, it is best for us to discuss these outside of the lesson time, or at the beginning of the lesson so that we don’t get interrupted by, or cut into the lesson time of, the next student. If you ever have problems or issues with my teaching or lessons, please let me know outside of lesson time so I can address the issue. If you would like to talk on the phone, please let me know ahead of time so we can set up a good time to talk, and to give me a heads up about the conversation so that I can have my thoughts and ideas in order.
Stopping lessons
There may come a time when you and/or your child will want to end lessons, or make a change and find a new teacher. When this happens, please discuss it with me first. I will not take it personally or be offended. If you want a new teacher, I will want to help you find a good match. I know most of the teachers in the area and will have an idea of personalities and strengths that would benefit your child. If you want to stop violin or viola completely, I would like to understand your reasons. Either way, I would like to be able to have a final lesson with your child to wrap things up. My students and I develop a unique relationship working together and we both deserve a chance to say goodbye. Violin lessons should be committed to (at least) for the entire school year. If you must leave in the middle of the year, any lessons not received before the next billing cycle will be forfeited to cover the time needed to find a new student.