parent back up

This year, with so many families simultaneously working and schooling from home, I’ve needed to go out of my way to communicate more with all my studio parents. I’ve also had to find ways to make parents’ parts in supporting their children easier. Plainly put, now more than ever, I must always have my studio parents’ backs.

So, I’ve started doing a few simple things which have made a big difference. Here they are – in no particular order. I hope they help you. Please share your ideas and tips in the blog comments or on my PA social media posts.

Streamline Emails, Texts, Newsletters, and Other Communication

Send general information as infrequently as possible. Send one email with 3 things in it rather than 3 emails with one each. Parents are bombarded with communication from school, work, and activities. They also quickly get overwhelmed and annoyed by TMI and (gasp) wrong info that needs correcting. Need to make everyone aware of something really urgent? Be sure to put the word urgent or something like it in your subject line. Avoid resending the same information multiple times.

Use the same one or two methods of communication with everyone and be consistent about it. That helps you and it means that parents always know where info is and don’t need to check multiple platforms to find what they need.

Communicate With Your Students More Often

Help your students take on more responsibility themselves by communicating more often with them. Even very young students can take on simple responsibilities which can be extended as they mature. I love the encouraging stickers available in Tonara Studio. In between lessons, I can communicate using few words even with my very youngest pianists.

Older students can send you updates and questions using text or audio/video clips. Actually, even my 8-10 year olds can do this on their own. You and your students can use cloud services to send larger files or upload them right within Tonara.

Be Understanding and Flexible

Tell parents often how much you appreciate all that they do to keep their children in lessons. Find something to praise them for every time you communicate. Like many of you, I find that personal phone calls are best for making parents aware of issues. Even then, I start by telling them how much I appreciate all they do and asking how everything is going. If there are problems at home or school I can then propose solutions to the issues we are having in lessons in a positive flexible manner and without having raised the issue myself.

Ask Students: What Questions Do You Have?

Asking this simple question may be the most important thing you ever do. Asking students what they need builds trust but also good practice habits. You can’t have a question if you haven’t tried (I mean really tried) to play and learn the items in your assignment. Giving students more opportunity to ask questions also means less frustration for parents to deal with at home.

I actually devoted most of an early intermediate group lesson to this a few weeks ago was totally surprised and delighted by the results. I didn’t plan to take the whole time. It just kinda happened. And it was completely worth it. Two students had similar questions on counting which allowed us to review together. After that there were a few requests for help with fingering and we were inspired to make a list of basic fingering do’s and don’ts.

Then it happened. The students had each picked a Carol from my Passports Christmas Collection. The question was, Would you please play the first 3 lines of my carol? It’s sounds strange to me. We ended up talking about how composers use dissonance to create mood. I showed them a few places in several of the carols where I had used unusual harmonies, suspensions, and special effects, walking them through the whats and whys. This was sophisticated stuff and they ate it up like candy.

Make Better Assignment Sheets

Assignments need to be recorded in a way that students can and will use. I use several methods depending on the needs and comfort mode of the students.

  • For classes, I use a document with detailed typed instructions for every week’s tasks. Each week I add the new assignment as the first page in the online document so the newest is always on the first page and they always can refer back to older assignments. This works for private lesson students who are at the same level as well. Usually a little individual tweaking is necessary.
  • Consider creating video assignments. I sometimes make videos just to kick things up a bit and for those who aren’t comfortable readers due to age or other reasons. After each task on the assignment, I remind them to stop the video and practice that thing before continuing on. I add short demos and even hold up cards and objects to underline my points. That said, I try to keep the videos as short as possible.
  • Older students benefit from taking down their own assignment each week. Putting something in their own words reinforces it and helps them remember what they need to do. Some type on a laptop or device and others keep a notebook. Yes, it takes time during the lesson but I think it’s totally worth it because I know they really understand what to do and that it is their responsibility to actually do it.

Want some great inspiration going forward to next semester? Attend the online InspirED Music Expo December 18-19. I’ll be doing a session, Partnering DIY Platforms and Traditional Lessons to Strengthen Learning, along with my wonderful colleagues Charlene Shelzi Jarvis, Holly Kennedy, Majhon Phillips, and Kristin Yost. We are scheduled for 11 am EST on 12/18.

Please join us! Learn from leaders in our field. Session topics include Building the dyslexic brain, Boosting sight reading, Music camps online, Sharpening stick-to-itive-ness, Managing burnout, Music and the brain, Recipes for budding composers, teaching and learning technology, and much more. After the actual conference, you’ll have access to replays of all the sessions for 14 Days.

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