[James Barnett]

Hi Beckie,

I can completely identify with your post. I’ve had a couple of pupils over the years with similar behaviour characteristics that you outline and it can be really hard in lessons! A couple of things that worked for me were having a plan of activities that I wanted to cover but then letting the pupil lead the activity whenever I sensed resistance. I felt the slightest amount of pressure would lead to disengagement so I tried really hard to remove this. It was amazing how much they seemed to achieve when I removed any expectations and only gave minimum guidance.

With one pupil I had the opportunity to note how their behaviour changed depending on who was around. There were three variations (all took place in my home).

1 Mum with younger sibling in next door room (door open)
2 Dad with younger sibling in next door room (door open)
3 Mum alone in lesson room

The pupil’s behaviour was worse with Mum being in the room during the lesson and there were tears both times even though I had changed nothing in terms of teaching approach. More data would be needed to prove this but I think it added loads more pressure to have Mum in the room with us. Might be something to think about changing.

Remember that you’re probably making a real contribution to your pupils life even though it might feel difficult sometimes.

I hope that helps and good luck:)

James

[James Barnett]

Thanks for posting Alan – it’s a really interesting article. I especially like the bit about engaging pupils in non music related chit chat. It can really develop trust and rapport so that the learning part becomes even more productive:)

[James Barnett]

I’ve been teaching consistently for over 5 years but only been doing it full time for just over 6 months. Things are going well but if you’re moving from having a regular salaried job too it can take some adjusting to. Managing finances is definitely something you need to become effective at!

I think it’s about spotting and preparing annual trends like when you’re going to be quiet (August!) and when things will be much busier. People tend to have less regular working patterns than maybe 20 years ago so I get quite a few adult learners during the day which means not all my work is between the 4 – 8 peak hours period.

Good luck to anyone moving full time:)

[James Barnett]

Hi Rosie,

This can be a tricky situation…. like the others here, when I first started I was more prepared to give up my time for free and offered free trial/first lessons. Now I’m a bit busier, I don’t offer this but if I have an enquiry from someone similar to yours I might agree for them to come round so I can showcase my teaching skills/warm personality(!) and not mention payment even though (like you) I have a strong feeling they’re trying to get a freebie. They might like you so much at the end that they’ll offer payment anyway or again they might not. But you gracefully offering something for free will tell them a lot about your personality. I have a couple of students who started in this way and now they are faithful and always pay on time. I think Matt (Pocock) is correct – it’s about trust and warmth.

Of course they may not come again and if they do, on their second visit they must not leave without paying or making arrangements to do so online! (this is very important!)

Hope this is helpful,

James

[James Barnett]

In my experience every August is like this. Now I don’t worry because I’m fairly certain now that people return in September (and you start making money again!)

Don’t worry and try to enjoy the down time. You’ll be busy again soon enough