When I first started teaching I knew nothing about operating a business, establishing professional policies, or setting personal boundaries to help maintain sanity and avoid burnout. That’s probably why I hated teaching. Thanks to the influence of many wise teachers who have mentored and advised me since then, I now have well-formulated policies that enable […]
Business
Monday Mailbag – How to Help Students Progress During Teacher Leaves
I am due with my 3rd child in about a month and currently have 8 piano students. They are all in the Primer Bastien book, except 2, who are in level 1. As important as my piano students and their success is to me, my family comes first, so I have been thinking of taking […]
Are you a Betterist?
Betterfly is a fast-growing site designed to help connect people who want to learn skills (Betterees) with people who can can teach skills (Betterists). According to the site, “A Betterist is a person who helps others learn, look or feel better.” And of course that would include us music teachers! After being contacted by the […]
Introducing My New Piano Student…She Lives in Germany
Toward the end of last year some friends of mine who live in Germany contacted me to see if I would consider teaching their daughter piano via the Internet. Since I had a little bit of experience doing this with one of my students last fall, I decided it would be fun to go the […]
Government Funding of the Arts – To Be or Not to Be?
That is the question! 🙂 There has been a flurry of activity lately in my neck of the woods as word spread quickly that our new governor (Sam Brownback) has proposed cutting funding for the Kansas Arts Commission. Music educators across the state are being called upon to send letters of opposition to the governor […]
Monday Mailbag – Scheduling Breaks
I’d love to hear how you “schedule” your year. I’m teaching through the Christmas holidays. Always have. But now that I’m in it I sure would love a break to spend more time with my own children. In the summer (June, July, August) I teach every week as well unless I am out of town, and […]
