TeachMusic21C - Blog , ParentsTeachMusic21C - Blog , Parentshttps://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/parentsWed, 15 Apr 2026 22:33:12 -0700http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Families and Music Teachers - A Team Dialogue]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/Families

Please enjoy this guest post from Michelle Kennedy Hawkins, a piano teacher member of the Teach Music 21C community. Thanks so much Michelle for sharing your thoughts in this informative blog. 


The longer I teach, the more comfortable I feel reaching out to the families of my students to touch base, ask questions, and converse with them about their child’s learning journey. I increasingly value communicating with them.  The more I have a 2-way dialogue with them, the more we create a team, and the more we understand each other’s approach in how we support the student.  I repeatedly throughout the year encourage the families to reach out to me if they have any questions, difficulties, or requests, whether big or small.  I ask them to reach out to me sooner rather than later, as I’ve discovered problems are much easier to deal with in early stages rather than after weeks of difficulty, and a question answered early avoids having a week “wasted” by a blockage in practicing due to a small confusion.  

Challenges of Multiple Platforms 

For the day-to-day communications of things like updates about recital details, or lesson rescheduling, etc. I find there is not one single way that works well for all my students’ families.  Each family has a preferred way to receive and respond to messages. Some of my families notice and respond quickest to messages on What’s App, some do best by email, and many do best by text.  Others are swiftest on facebook Messenger, or I have a piano teacher friend whose families like to see updates on a facebook page.  I have one family that is best to call or tell information to face-to-face because written communications tend to get misread.  These permutations of how to send messages can be a hassle to manage.  I know some teachers will reinforce to their families that, “I’ll only communicate by email,” so that they don’t have to manage so many platforms.  For communications I am sending everyone, I have started composing the message on google Keep or in Word then quickly cutting and pasting it into the various apps, or I save the message on the cloud then just sending out the link to everyone on the various apps.  Sometimes I send it to all as an email but then send the briefest text and WhatsApp message, “Please check your email for an important message.”  I don’t know what the best solution for this is, I am interested in reading your comments and ideas! 

Intentionally Checking In – Building a Routine 

Besides chatting with families in an organic way as random opportunities arise during the teaching year, and besides the basic info update messages about recitals, etc., I also like to have certain check-ins built into my routine so that I don’t accidentally go too many weeks without communication during the flurry of the teaching year.  Here is my routine as it is now: 

  • August Mailing – via email and snail mail/printed copies 

  • Includes a link to start of year form, asking not just for phone numbers, etc., but also about students’ backgrounds, requests of what to learn, how practicing went at home last year, etc.  See a sample version of this year’s form here (the interesting parts are sections 4-6): 

https://forms.gle/cvhpVJtHsF5YxJPJ7 

  • Includes a sign-up link to book an in-person Family-Teacher interview/conference 

  • Mid-year check in – I've done this in various ways over the years.  Here are a few: 

  • Phone call – I give them some questions to ponder, before we have the call, about any requests of what to learn, questions, observations about what is working well or might need adjusting 

  • Another in person Family-Teacher interview/conference 

  • Google form – like the start of year google form, but much shorter 

  • Mingle and chat: Purposefully try to mingle and chat with families after recitals, or at our local music festival.   

  • Building a sense of community and connection through face-to-face interactions as part of these events helps me gain a sense of how things are going for families and, I think, helps them feel more comfortable in approaching me about anything that might come up in their child’s music journey, or in the rest of their lives that might affect the child’s learning or how they act in their lessons.  It is also another chance for me to encourage them to feel comfortable contacting me. 

  • Family comments on our lesson note pages 

  • A few of my families helpfully jot a brief comment beside items on the lesson notes/practice list, such as if a student struggled with something, or if they loved playing a certain song, or if they skipped practicing any songs on the list.  I find these insights extremely helpful, steering my approach to those items in our lesson. 

  • Posting information online and programmed/scheduled messages 

    • google classroom- I plan to post schedules and recital reminders, plus videos for families with ideas to help students practice, videos explaining things like posture or what performing in our local festival is like, etc., on google classroom this year since my students’ families are on google classroom anyway to access links to youtube rhythm clap-alongs, vocal warm-up recordings, links to online music games, videos about music theory, and more anyway. Students and their families can post comments about posted activities and videos, which I love reading, as they tell me which ones they loved or which ones they struggled to do. 

    • Scheduling texts or emails for auto send out. 

    • I have found having my students’ families in a group text has been helpful for sending reminders or quick updates.  I remind them it is a group text so if they want to ask me something specific to their child for them to text me individually.  I love being able to type a text up late at night but set it to delay-send the next morning. 

    • Other online communications colleagues have used: 

    • My Music Staff – some teachers have their calendars on here, program emails to go out at certain scheduled times, and more 

    • Website 

    • Facebook page 

    • Monthly Emailed Newsletter  

    Insights and Community 

    Communicating frequently, especially encouraging a back-and-forth dialogue with the families, can bring beneficial insights into a student’s music journey which can help us tailor our approach to best suit the student. It also builds a sense of community, a sense of comradery and teamwork, which is a great environment in which to raise young musicians! 

    What are some of the ways you facilitate communication with students’ families?  What is working well?  What challenges are you facing?  

]]>Fri, 12 Sep 2025 20:36:24 +0000<![CDATA[How to Have Meaningful First Conversations with Parents]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/first-conversations

The first conversation between music teachers and parents can be the spark that ignites a lifelong passion for music making - or the moment that parents decide music lessons may not be for their child. Responding to parents’ initial inquiry into music lessons can be challenging especially when parents’ rationale or expectations for music lessons make music teachers uneasy. How can music teachers respond? What kind of communication is appropriate?

Communication Workshop - Several years ago, I conducted a workshop on communication for a group of studio music teachers. At the beginning of the workshop, when I asked the participants to describe the characteristics of effective communicators, they all agreed on two vital interdependent skills: the skill of listening and the skill of speaking. However, later in the week, when I asked them to put their listening and speaking skills into action, I discovered their interpretations of listening and speaking were not entirely what I had in mind. 


Here’s what I had them examine.

Three different parents contact you regarding music lessons for their child.


Parent A says, “ I just want my child to have fun in their music lessons. We’re going to give it a try for two years and if it’s not fun, we’ll move on to another activity.”


Parent B says, “My child has a lot of difficulty with concentration. So I think the discipline of learning to play a musical instrument will be very beneficial.”


Parent C says, “I want my child to complete upper level RCM examinations for extra credit in high school. That will be our primary goal for learning to play the piano.”

How would you respond? What do you think the participants in the communication workshop had to say?


I must admit I was quite surprised by the outcome of the above exercise. One by one the participants described how they would explain why the parents’ point of view wasn’t workable. Participants all thought teachers needed to listen carefully so they could come up with compelling arguments that would point out the limitations of the parents’ viewpoint. I was completely stunned. I thought listening carefully meant developing an understanding of parents so that teachers might build on - rather than reject - the parents’ viewpoint.


Parent's Thought Process - What I find remarkable is how each of the above parent scenarios provide sufficient reason for parents to enrol their child in music lessons. Although each scenario may fail to capture the entire story of music lessons, they do provide parents with a legitimate starting point for getting lessons underway. What happens next is up to us as teachers. 


How can music teachers genuinely respond in a manner that respects parents’ viewpoint without giving up our own teaching philosophy?

My immediate response to parents is to confirm their interest by saying something like, “That’s a great starting point”, knowing that once we get things underway, I have lots of time to shed light on aspects of musical development that parents may not have anticipated. Telling parents that their viewpoint is not workable is a sure way to discourage parents’ initial interest. Recognizing where parents are coming from and using their viewpoint as the launch pad for getting things going - that’s something we can all do as music teachers. 


So the next time parents phone or email you regarding music lessons, keep in mind - this first conversation can either strike a harmonious chord or leave a dissonant note. Which do you think has the most long lasting outcome?

]]>Sun, 27 Oct 2024 15:38:07 +0000<![CDATA[How Music Teachers can Help Today's Families: Busyness & Balance]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/Busyness-Balance-Families

I grew up on a Saskatchewan farm during the 1950s and 60s. Yes it’s true. My parents operated a small farm that included grain production, cattle, milk cows, chickens, and pigs situated on a vast prairie landscape. All of which means my daily life consisted of diverse layers. Of course, I went to school. But what I remember most from my childhood happened before and after school hours. There was the constant cycle of farm chores that my parents needed me to get done. And there was also play - a generous and ongoing invitation from the Saskatchewan landscape to enjoy its every nuance.  

Fast forward to today and I see a striking shift in family dynamics. In contrast to my childhood, where parents relied on their children to help manage the household, today’s parents often find themselves navigating a different landscape. With fewer demands for assistance at home, children are left with unscheduled time before and after school - a precious commodity that can easily be squandered on screens or lost in the shuffle of modern life.


In my experience with students, I’ve observed a prevailing trend: busy families scrambling to fill their children’s calendars with extracurricular activities. Now don’t get me wrong. Of course, I understand the benefits of connecting youngsters with a variety of activities. At the same time, I am concerned about the impact on children whose schedules are filled to the maximum. Not to mention the toll over-scheduling can have on parents’ health and wellbeing. 


Maybe it’s time to consider moving away from the current pursuit of busyness. Because when children have less on their schedules, they reap benefits in three key areas: 1. Down time, 2. Free play, and 3. Family connections. When parents have less running around, they have more time to care for themselves and that’s an important prerequisite before they can take care of their children. What do we want - busyness or balance?


A Conversation on Downtime. Not long ago, when I asked one of my students about his downtime, he indicated that his family followed the motto of “Work hard, play hard”. I said I could see the appeal of such a motto. But when I asked him if he actually “played hard” after all the “working hard”, his silence and the furrow in his forehead told me a lot about what was going on. The “playing hard” never happened. Only “working hard”. And I suspect that down time rarely took place.


As a vital element for healthy personal development, free play fosters creativity, problem solving skills, and social interaction. When children miss out on free play - when they're constantly directed by schedules and adult expectations - they miss out on the chance to develop and explore their own interests that they’ll eventually carry into adulthood and shape their futures.


Furthermore, we cannot overlook how meaningful family connections are vital for children’s development. Unfortunately, a calendar filled with non-stop activities can create a sense of disconnection, where family interactions are replaced by hurried transitions from one commitment to another.  Down time for children and parents nurtures their heart, mind, body, and soul, contributing to well-rounded and fulfilling lives. 


In our fast-paced society, the space between busyness and balance can feel enormous. Finding balance can seem like an elusive goal. Yet, prioritizing unscheduled time is essential. It nurtures healthy physical and mental development, fosters life skills, and strengthens familial bonds. Creating space for unstructured time is as vital as any structured activity. 


Ultimately - creating balanced lifestyles for children and parents isn’t something that happens by accident. Investing in our quality of life requires thoughtful reflection and commitment. It requires intentionally cultivating environments where children and parents can truly thrive and flourish. In a world that often values busyness over balance, we must ask ourselves: what kind of life are we truly building?

]]>Mon, 30 Sep 2024 16:51:48 +0000<![CDATA[How to Start Your Music Teaching Year with an Introductory Letter]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/introductory-letter-to-parents

With September just around the corner, it’s time we start thinking about how to set the tone for a fantastic year of music making! Writing an introductory letter to our students’ parents is a great way to share our enthusiasm for teaching, outline our plans, and create a collaborative spirit for the year ahead. It’s all about building meaningful bridges between our studios and our students’ families.

Here’s a 5-point template for your Music Teacher Introductory Letter.


1. Gratitude - Parents have lots on their plates. So it’s important to let parents know how much we appreciate that they’ve decided to include music lessons in their child’s life. 

2. Annual Theme - I like to give each year an overarching theme. For 2024, I chose “Chill Out Pieces” to inspire my students. Appropriate themes may also include: gratitude, flexibility, persistence, patience, and goal setting.

3. Musical Goals/Life Skills/Home Life - This combination of aspects provides a very practical framework for students’ musical journey. I appreciate how these aspects may help parents develop a deeper understanding of what’s going on and how they can support/observe/understand their child’s musical journey.

4. Schedule - Provide a summary of dates for the upcoming four-month semester including weeks without lessons, concerts, holidays, and group classes so parents have this information well in advance.

5. Closing - Set the stage for success. Express appreciation for the value of music making. Always remember, as music teachers our enthusiasm is contagious and sets the tone for students and their families.

Taking the time to build meaningful bridges between our studios and our students' families is a great way to demonstrate our commitment to music making, our students, their families, and our profession. 


Please feel welcome to adjust the above template to reflect your own teaching philosophy and lay the groundwork for a supportive and engaging learning environment.

HERE'S AN EXAMPLE FROM MY STUDIO


August 28, 2024


Dear Jane and John Smith,

Thank you so much for your generous support of your daughter’s music lessons. I appreciate it immensely and look forward to more explorations with Jennifer over the coming months.


As we continue with the 2024 theme of “Chill Out Pieces”, I like to keep in mind this question - Twenty years from now, what music making activities will these students participate in because of the music lessons they’re having right now? My hope is that students’ future music making will include any of the following activities: playing to chill out after a day at work, making music with their own children, putting a band together with friends, relaxing with a favourite piece from the past, learning something they heard on the internet. It’s so amazing to support students’ chill out development.


By now, you’re very familiar with gathering information about students’ musical goals, life skills, and family life. This information is so helpful as these three aspects overlap and intertwine with each other in ways that go beyond just keeping track of musical goals. Take some time to chat with Jennifer.


Musical Goals

Currently in place

To start working on

1.

2.

3.

1. 

2.

3.

Life Skills

Currently in place

To start working on

1.

2.

3.

1.

2.

3.

Family Life

Currently in place

To start working on

1.

2.

1.

2.


Please find attached the schedule/tuition info sheet.


I see the upcoming months as full of promise and exciting opportunities for musical exploration and growth. Music making is an amazing way to nourish the vastness of our inner lives - intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Thanks again for your support and partnership. Here’s to a wonderful semester of music making and learning.


Sincerely,

Merlin Thompson

]]>Mon, 12 Aug 2024 17:08:20 +0000<![CDATA[How Music Teachers can Work With Parents - Part 3]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/working-with-parents-part-3

Welcome back to "Working With Parents". In Parts 1 and 2, we took a look at past parent/teacher interactions and recent research into parental involvement. For Part 3, let's weave all this information together and consider - How can music teachers and parents work together given the many layers of influence in today's context?

At the top of my list, I always want to keep in mind that the parents of my students are real life people. As pointed out by Culturally Responsive Teaching researchers, parents have their own backgrounds and ways of making things work for their children. They live in the real world and they’ve got a lot going on in their lives. Their days are packed full of obligations - they have jobs, partner needs, laundry, making meals, housekeeping, planning for next year and the next ten years. They have a million things on their minds. Their child’s music lessons don’t take place in some kind of idyllic setting. It takes place within the real life schedule of daily life.


Recognizing real life parents means that I welcome parents for who they are, and I anticipate that parents will come with various degrees of involvement - from highly involved to not involved at all. - And how I involve them is always a reflection of Student Independence and Autonomy.

For parents who want to be involved, my focus isn’t on giving parents an endless list of things to do at home. My focus is on strategies that purposefully nurture and support students’ independence.


This means I’m very particular about the language I use during lessons so that I put students in charge at all times. For example - I never turn the parent and say, "Make sure your child does this at home." Or, "Please monitor such and such during your child’s practice." These are statements that put parents in charge not their children.

Right from the very first lesson, I always put the child in charge with statements like: "Why don’t you show your Dad how to do this when you get home? Why not even show him the wrong version and right version so your Dad knows about both?!"


At home, I encourage parents to keep a 3-part framework in mind - Step in, Step back, and Let go. With Step in - parents can provide assistance, but if parents are Stepping in all the time, most likely students get impatient with parents always taking charge. So that’s where Step back is important - in allowing space for children to take ownership of their learning. And Parents Letting go is important - as students benefit when they’re given space to learn and make mistakes, to learn from their success and failures. I also have a timeline for parental involvement — with parents assisting 5 and 6-year old beginners for approximately 2 to 3 years with this age group - and with older beginners - I encourage parental involvement for a much shorter period of time. 

That’s what I do with parents who want to be involved. What do I do with parents who want their child to pursue piano lessons on their own? And I should say that I have just as many parents who attend lessons for those first three years as parents who don’t.


What’s really interesting for me is that how I teach doesn’t really change whether parents attend or not. Because what’s most important is how I empower students’ independence right from their very first lesson. When students can’t take ownership of what we’re working on, then I’m the one who needs to make some adjustments. 


I need to find ways to make things do-able and manageable - to keep things simple, because if what I’m teaching is so complicated that students can only achieve success by their parents monitoring their practice, then I’m making things much too hard for everyone. And I help students get the most out of doing simple things by doing those simple things several different ways. What’s important when parents aren’t involved is that I teach in a way that my students can take ownership - knowing that at times, everything will go well and on other occasions, it may take more than one week of fine tuning on my part before students get the optimal results.


I hope you can see how working with parents isn’t some kind of one-size-fits-all undertaking. It’s about respecting parents as real life individuals whose daily life includes a wealth of valuable experiences and a ton of responsibilities and obligations. Under such circumstances, involving parents in their children’s musical development works best when we music teachers value parents for who they are and what they’re prepared to do, rather than trying to reconfigure them into some kind of idyllic version of parental involvement. 


What seems important for us as music teachers is to be the teachers parents can depend on. We use our awareness into the lives of our students' families to fine tune our teaching. We give our best to make things work for THEIR situation. Accepting parents as real life individuals is fundamental to this process because how parents participate in their child’s musical journey will always be in relation to the values, priorities, and background they bring forward.


Having explored various layers of parental involvement, where do you see commonalities with your own approach?


What stands out for you in this exploration?

]]>Mon, 15 Jul 2024 15:57:00 +0000<![CDATA[How Music Teachers can Work With Parents - Part 2]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/working-with-parents-part-2

Welcome back to "Working With Parents". In Part 1, we took a look at past interactions between music teachers and parents. For Part 2, it's time to take a look at what recent research has to say about parental involvement in their children's musical journey.

These days it’s not hard to find music education research that talks favourably about how parental interest or involvement can have a positive effect on students’ musical achievement. Parental involvement is seen as contributing to student’s motivation, persistence, and ongoing musical commitment. And there’s more - Music education researchers also indicate that parental involvement isn’t always a guarantee of students’ musical success. The overarching message of music education research is that music teachers should make every effort to get parents involved so that their students may experience the benefits.

At the same time, there’s another branch of research that we should bring into the conversation - it comes under the title - Self Determination Theory. Developed by University of Rochester professors Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, their research focuses on the factors that influence intrinsic motivation - or what is it that drives each one of us to do things for ourselves. And what do they have at the top of their list? Autonomy - the need we all have to direct our own lives. Autonomy - also known as independence - is the feeling we have when we take charge of what we do. Our autonomy and independence flourishes when we feel that our personal efforts or pursuits are internally generated and implemented rather than externally imposed or determined by others. And in the case of students successfully learning to sing or play a musical instrument, we see autonomy and independence are absolute must-haves. 

The final research source I want to include comes from the field of Culturally Responsive Teaching. An educational movement that emerged recently in response to the longstanding inequities in education and drawing attention to the long history of ethnically diverse families having to forfeit their cultural background and psychological wellbeing in order to assimilate the dominant culture’s preferred learning approach. 

The message of CRT is that in order for instruction to be relevant, teachers need to learn about their students and parents so that they can build on the various cultural and personal layers that students and parents bring with them. That means paying attention to who are the parents of our students, not so that we can change parents to look like teachers (as previous generations of music teachers did) but so that we can support and enhance their music connections in ways that match what’s already going on. 

What stands out when I combine these three research resources is how the interaction between teachers and parents consists of several layers. #1. From music education research: we find encouragement for teachers to find ways to involve parents in their child’s musical journey. #2. Whereas with Self determination theory: we find a reminder that teachers need to keep students’ independence and autonomy in sight. #3. And finally with Culturally Responsive Teaching: another reminder that it’s about supporting who parents are, not changing them into something else.

Obviously there's a lot going on.

What elements from the above research resources feel familiar to you? What seems new? Can you see how your music teaching reflects various elements from above?

Be sure to find out what all this means when we put things together in Part 3. See you then.

]]>Mon, 08 Jul 2024 15:53:49 +0000<![CDATA[How Music Teachers can Work With Parents - Part 1]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/working-with-parents-part-1

Every where I go - it seems music teachers have questions about parental involvement. Should music teachers require parents to attend their child’s music lessons? Is it advantageous for music teachers to require parents to monitor their child’s practicing at home? How much should parents be involved? How much should parents step back from their child’s musical journey? What should music teachers do?

To answer these compelling questions, a good place to start is by looking at what's gone on in the past. Let's take a quick look at how music teachers and parents have interacted with each other from a historical perspective.

Ever since the beginning of time, teachers have enjoyed an honourable social status. From ancient times to modern days, people have relied on teachers as authorities based on their knowledge and expertise. It’s because teachers are authorities that parents have turned to teachers again and again - certain that teachers’ expertise will bring enlightenment and growth to their children’s own personal development.

That probably explains why during my own childhood growing up in the 1950s and 60, parents dropped off their children for music lessons. It was an era of minimal interaction between teachers and parents that had a lot to do with teachers as authorities. Teachers chose to work with minimal input from parents as an acknowledgment that teachers knew what they were doing - they were the authorities - and they kept parents at a distance because they didn’t want parents getting in the way. So parents dropped off their children for lessons - no questions asked. That was that.

During the 1970s and 80s, the influence of teachers as authorities evolved in response to two different occurrences. This was the period during which the Suzuki Method gained a significant foothold in North American music teaching. And along with it came the emphasis on parent participation. 

At the same time, governmental institutions in Europe and North American recognized the need for parents to be more involved in the education of their children. Instead of parents being kept at a distance as evident prior to 1970, parents were encouraged to get involved with their children’s educational pursuits. That explains why - in the music education environment from this time forward - we see a gradual increase in books and resources written to help parents with setting up the home musical environment and giving parents the task of becoming teachers at home. 

What’s interesting about these resources is that while they have immense practicality as sources of information for parents, involving parents was more about parents adopting the teachers' perspective. Music teachers maintained their position as authorities. Even going so far as to replace the parent’s existing musical environment with what teachers consider to be the idyllic musical environment. Music teachers preferred parents to take on the role of teacher at home - rather than their own intuitive role as parent. Teachers preferred it when parents would view their child’s musical studies from the teacher’s perspective. The whole point being for parents to assimilate the teacher’s values, attitudes, and behaviour.

What does this mean for music teachers working with parents? 

From this brief examination, we see how music teachers come from a long and highly established tradition of teachers as authorities which sheds light on two major results. Firstly, it means teachers have a history of keeping parents at a distance. And more recently, it means parents relinquish their own parental instincts in favour of taking on the teachers’ values and the role of teacher at home. 

An interesting start to our journey into music teachers working with parents. Don't you think...

Can you see how music teachers as authorities has an impact on your teaching? 

What does this exploration reveal about your role as music teacher?


]]>Mon, 01 Jul 2024 17:10:57 +0000<![CDATA[Parent Check Ins: How to Wrap Up Music Lessons End of Term]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/parent-check-ins

Can you believe it - June is here and there are only a few weeks until summer break. How can music teachers make the most as the school year comes to a close? In the previous exploration, we examined the practicality of Student Report Cards. This time around, let’s take a look at Parent Check Ins as an another way to get the most from this important time of year.

For Parent Check Ins - I meet with parents for 15 minutes during the first or second week of their child’s June lesson schedule. I appreciate the opportunity to listen to what parents have to say and to share with them my own reflections from the Student Report Cards. Most often, there's a remarkably direct connection between parents’ thoughts and the Student Report Cards. It’s a  great way to reinforce that parents and teachers both have something to contribute to students’ ongoing development. On many occasions, parents express their appreciation for being included in this way, remarking that no one - not even their child’s classroom teacher - has ever asked for their input in such a manner.

I also incorporate the topics of Musical Goals, Life Skills, and Family Home Life as the framework for Parent Check Ins discussions. By including these topics in our discussions, I hope to make it clear that students’ musical achievements aren’t something separate from their family home life and who students are. When students decide on certain Musical Goals, it’s likely they’ll be using various Life Skills to assist. Or we may find that certain things like procrastination or frustration may be getting in the way. Knowing about Life Skills sheds light on students’ progress. With Family Home Life, it makes sense to celebrate their Musical Goals with home concerts as part of their family experiences. In this way, these three factors overlap and intersect in ways that stimulate students’ musical development. So, it’s important to meaningfully reflect on this dynamic combination. 

As teacher, my role is to set up an environment of openness and reciprocal trust where it’s not about rolling out my own agenda, nor parents running the show. It’s about listening to each other for the student’s benefit. My responsibility to students and parents is to welcome them into meaningful ongoing reflective processes. Parent Check Ins are a practical way to include parents in reflecting on what’s working or what’s not working - so that when next September rolls around, we have a good idea of how we might continue to build on the previous year’s lessons.

Do you include Parent Check Ins in your yearly schedule? What are the benefits to you and your students? 

]]>Mon, 03 Jun 2024 15:16:35 +0000<![CDATA[How Music Teachers can Build Trust and Engagement]]>https://www.teachmusic21c.com/blogs/post/building-trust-and-engagement

What do you do when parents request lessons for a month to see if their child likes it before they make a commitment? Do you tell them it's better to make a one-year commitment, as progress can be fairly slow at the beginning? Is there anything music teachers can do to get parents to change their minds? 

This question is compelling because it speaks to two fundamental aspects of teaching and learning: mutual trust among teachers, students, and parents, and parents concern over their child's engagement. It reminds me of a colleague who put mutual trust and student engagement at the forefront by teaching the student's first lesson at no cost.

My colleague teaches the first lesson for free, knowing he can make it so interesting, engaging, fun, rewarding, personal, and successful that of course students would want to come back for more. His message is clear: that he appreciates students' willingness to explore with him, that he knows how to engage them, and that he's got the tools to make things work. As demonstration of trustworthy and engaging music lessons, it's a brilliant strategy!

While I don’t teach the very first lesson at no cost, my strategy for starting new students does take into consideration mutual trust and parents’ concern over their child’s reaction. My solution is to start with a six-week lesson period during which I give my best efforts to making lessons so engaging and successful that students eagerly continue their lessons. I make a special point of frequently highlighting evidence of progress that might go unnoticed by students and parents given their inexperience with music lessons. Most notably, I have students give a concert during their first lesson and encourage them to do the same when they get home. When possible, I make connections for parents with other parents and students with other students.

I trust that students and parents also give their best efforts to six weeks of lessons. This time period is generally enough time for teacher, student, and parents to get an idea of how things will proceed. As teacher, I can see what kind of progress the student has made and get a sense of how I’ll help make it work for students given the obstacles they may face at home. Students and parents get an idea of what’s involved in taking music lessons and how it fits in with their family’s home life. Most often at the end of six weeks, students and parents choose to continue with lessons, so this strategy is useful in establishing a trustworthy and engaging instructional process. It’s also practical when insurmountable obstacles make it difficult for successful continuation as students and parents can opt out after six weeks.

What strategies do you use for starting new students? 

]]>Mon, 20 May 2024 16:03:23 +0000