Piano Teacher and Mid-Year Policy Changes

[rainbowmama]

My kid's piano teacher had a recital with less than stellar attendance. He sent out an email that from now on, barring illness, if any kid doesn't attend the recital, he will cancel the whole recital. This seems very unfair to the other kids. How would you respond to this?

[Guest]

My kid's piano teacher had a recital with less than stellar attendance. He sent out an email that from now on, barring illness, if any kid doesn't attend the recital, he will cancel the whole recital. This seems very unfair to the other kids. How would you respond to this?

 

I think I would call or email and say exactly what you're saying in your post. It seems grossly unfair to the children to penalize them for something out of their control. 

[Miss Tick]

So, he is responding by punishing the kids that participate? That sounds like anger or embarrassment speaking. Perhaps he should charge a "recital deposit" fee at the beginning of the semester. He could refund it or turn it into "fabulous recital prizes!" or apply it toward the next semester's tuition.

 

Maybe he needs some polite/humorous/patient suggestions for a better response unless 1. He doesn't actually want to do a recital and you don't care or 2. You never liked him much anyway and this is just the bump you need to start interviewing new teachers.

[Arcadia]

My kids aren't into recitals but they still participated and did their best. When we toured music schools, some have recitals at their small auditorium while some have it elsewhere.

 

My kids previous music school holds their annual recital elsewhere and ask every child participating to pay $20 to offset the rental cost for the 3.5 hr (with break) evening recital. The coordinator collects the recital fee a month in advance so they won't be financially impacted by no shows.

 

If attendence is less than stellar, it does feels frustrating to the organizer. But the teacher should have done a poll to see if there should be future recitals. Cancelling because of a single no show sounds harsh.

[Reefgazer]

He's just encouraging parents to lie about their absences.  That said, I would speak up, and then change teachers if it becomes untenable.

[ScoutTN]

How dumb!

If he can't handle recital issues better, I'd find another teacher.

 

Our recital attendance fluctuates. May is more difficult than December. We all enjoy it and encourage the kids, regardless of how many are there. Nobody stresses about it, inckuding the teacher.

[Tracy]

Our piano teacher has about 50 students, and recital attendance is optional.  She told us that last year, only about 15 attended the Christmas recital, but still enough to have a nice recital.  I don't know what "less than stellar" attendance means, but there is a point at which it is not worth having.  I think you have to let the teacher run the program the way he wants, and if you don't like it, go elsewhere.  I don't think it does anyone any good for parents to get involved in how the teacher wants to run his business.  When we didn't like how our piano teacher did things, we found a new one.

[laundrycrisis]

His reaction is ridiculous.  If he needs to say that it isn't worth renting the recital hall for less than a certain number of kids, then he should say that.  He should also work to figure out why the students aren't playing in the recitals.  Is he having too many performances ?  Are the students getting enough time to have their pieces ready to perform ?  Is there something about the way the recitals are set up that makes them not fun ?  Whatever the problem is, his reaction isn't going to help.  If you really like him otherwise, you can see how this ends up playing out.  If you don't think he's awesome enough to make it worth dealing with his attitude, then it's time to find a new teacher.  

[mathnerd]

My son's teacher sends out an email one month before the event letting me know how much the recital costs - she uses the money for chair rentals, videographer, food etc - the amount is due with the monthly fee. She knows how many kids would attend almost 1 month ahead by this method. I know another music school that charges kids who do not participate $30 for the cost of the venue and the work they put into arranging the recital. So, I think that your son's teacher needs to devise a smarter method to ensure attendance in recitals.

 

I was stuck with my son's piano teacher for a while and very frustrated with many things and the thought of transferring to another teacher somehow did not occur to me - when I eventually did, I was so relieved and happy. So, I suggest that if this teacher is making up unreasonable rules, you start looking around for a more reasonable teacher.

[IsabelC]

That is totally ridiculous.  Parents are paying the teacher for the entire piano learning experience, which includes studio recitals.  He isn't entitled to deprive some students of a part of what they have paid for just because some other students aren't abiding by his attendance policy.  He needs to firstly take it up with the particular students and parents involved, and secondly work on a way to communicate the importance of consistent attendance at the time of new students signing up.  If he had properly explained this up front, students would turn up except in case of illness, family emergency, etc. Whereas if the teacher feels that the recitals are compulsory while the pupils and their families are under the impression that they are an optional extra, then clearly there has been a communication failure.

Edited October 30, 2016 by IsabelC

[rainbowmama]

It is a small studio with about less than a dozen kids. More than a third of the kids didn't participate at this recital. There are three recitals a year. My daughter spends a lot of time preparing for the recital. I feel ambivalent about spending so much time on non-repertoire material and turning down other invitations for a recital that may or may not happen. I think a last minute cancellation would upset my kid. I don't like him as much as I like my oldest son's violin teacher, but he's okay. My kid likes him and seems to progress well.

[Sahamamama2]

So, he is responding by punishing the kids that participate? That sounds like anger or embarrassment speaking. Perhaps he should charge a "recital deposit" fee at the beginning of the semester. He could refund it or turn it into "fabulous recital prizes!" or apply it toward the next semester's tuition.

 

Maybe he needs some polite/humorous/patient suggestions for a better response unless 1. He doesn't actually want to do a recital and you don't care or 2. You never liked him much anyway and this is just the bump you need to start interviewing new teachers.

 

:iagree: I'm not sure I'd want him for my child's piano teacher. He's not really much of a role model, is he? That's like a coach telling the players at the game, "I've decided that this game is cancelled because Joe isn't here. The rest of you can all go home now." How immature. What's the point of being on that team?

 

Of course, if we had had teachers like that in school, imagine the possibilities. :D "I've decided that there will be no test today, because Susan isn't here to participate. The rest of you who studied can all go home now." :rolleyes:

Edited October 27, 2016 by Sahamamama2

[momacacia]

Maybe his "studio" is just too small for you? I have noticed that teachers with such small studios aren't really into their studio all that much, but their focus is on their other (possibly music related) fulltime job.

 

If you all just doing this for fun, that's fine, but if you want a serious music education for your kid, I'd look around a little. There's a lot to be said for recitals, as well as a group of other students around your student all going the same direction.

 

Or, Maybe he's fabulous and just had a really bad day. ;)

[G5052]

I can't imagine.

 

Both of our piano teachers did a wonderful job of making the recitals a happy family event for all levels, and there was never an attendance problem. Both also made it optional, but encouraged it. If you didn't want to do it or had a conflict, it wasn't a big deal. Both charged a small, nonrefundable fee due with the month's lesson fees for those participating to cover the cleaning fee at the church where they were held, punch, and paper products. Everyone brought cookies and snacks. 

 

The second one actually had two recitals to better accommodate everyone's schedules, one in the evening on a weeknight and one Saturday morning. Still no pressure.

 

Both teachers had many students who scored well in competitions and quite a few who went on to study music in college.

[MerryAtHope]

It is a small studio with about less than a dozen kids. More than a third of the kids didn't participate at this recital. There are three recitals a year. My daughter spends a lot of time preparing for the recital. I feel ambivalent about spending so much time on non-repertoire material and turning down other invitations for a recital that may or may not happen. I think a last minute cancellation would upset my kid. I don't like him as much as I like my oldest son's violin teacher, but he's okay. My kid likes him and seems to progress well.

 

I think he's being unreasonable. I would not be happy at all that a recital could be canceled last minute. I think I would email back something to the effect of:

 

"I'm sorry that the attendance wasn't what you had hoped for this recital. However, I'm confused--how would cancelling a recital over a few students who can't come be fair to the half or 2/3 of the kids who CAN be there and who worked hard on their pieces? This policy change doesn't seem like it would encourage higher attendance at recitals, and seems to penalize the kids who are putting in the most effort. My student and my family would find a late cancellation very discouraging. Please consider a different option that doesn't penalize the students who have worked hard to prepare for a recital."

 

If he's a sought-after teacher, I think no-shows would make a student lose his or her priority status for lessons (another student might get that student's place). If he's not highly sought-after, then I agree with the idea of a recital fee to help pay for the venue--sometimes even a small fee encourages participation (same goes for homeschool field trips!)

[rainbowmama]

Maybe his "studio" is just too small for you? I have noticed that teachers with such small studios aren't really into their studio all that much, but their focus is on their other (possibly music related) fulltime job.

 

If you all just doing this for fun, that's fine, but if you want a serious music education for your kid, I'd look around a little. There's a lot to be said for recitals, as well as a group of other students around your student all going the same direction.

 

Or, Maybe he's fabulous and just had a really bad day. ;)

 

Well, I think music lessons are part of a well-rounded education and expect her to play until she finishes middle school, but it's not her primary passion and I don't anticipate her pursuing music as a career, so somewhere in between casual and serious? He has several different jobs, with teaching being only one of them, but I thought having a teacher who worked professionally as a musician and composer was probably a good thing. 

[Tranquility7]

My kids aren't into recitals but they still participated and did their best. When we toured music schools, some have recitals at their small auditorium while some have it elsewhere.

 

My kids previous music school holds their annual recital elsewhere and ask every child participating to pay $20 to offset the rental cost for the 3.5 hr (with break) evening recital. The coordinator collects the recital fee a month in advance so they won't be financially impacted by no shows.

 

If attendence is less than stellar, it does feels frustrating to the organizer. But the teacher should have done a poll to see if there should be future recitals. Cancelling because of a single no show sounds harsh.

 

A 3.5 hour recital?????  I would absolutely lose.my.mind! Do people seriously attend that (and stay for that whole thing)? The length of that alone would make me say, "Uhhhhhh... no way!"

 

DS and DD have their piano recital tomorrow. 45 min is about my max. I'm thrilled our teacher tends to split it into two groups if it gets much over an hour. I cannot fathom 3.5 hours, no matter how well the students play and how diverse the music and ensembles.

[Arcadia]

A 3.5 hour recital????? I would absolutely lose.my.mind! Do people seriously attend that (and stay for that whole thing)? The length of that alone would make me say, "Uhhhhhh... no way!".

It starts at 6pm, intermission at around 8pm so the younger kids can go home first, than the older kids play until past 9pm. There are individual strings, woodwind, piano performance as well as strings ensemble, woodwind ensemble and choir performances. Many do stay for the whole duration as the kids are used to late nights.

[HS Mom in NC]

It starts at 6pm, intermission at around 8pm so the younger kids can go home first, than the older kids play until past 9pm. There are individual strings, woodwind, piano performance as well as strings ensemble, woodwind ensemble and choir performances. Many do stay for the whole duration as the kids are used to late nights.

 

Kill.me.now.  That would be a deal breaker for me.  I wasn't thrilled with my kids' 2 hour recitals.  I thought they should've been broken up into 2 one hour recitals.  The teacher was the pastor's wife and had free access to the church sanctuary for recitals just like the other church member who taught music lessons did.

 

[HS Mom in NC]

My email would say,

"Since this is your new policy, I'll have to inform you that we are looking for another teacher.  I cannot possibly predict if something other than illness will cause us to be unable to participate in future recitals and I wouldn't want other students to be punished for it. "

We missed one due to travel and another due to a conflict with a gymnastics event. That's how life is.

[Bluegoat]

THat makes no sense to me.  I don't think it's fair, but I don't see how it would be effective either.

 

I think something like a deposit would be a much better plan.  THat being said, maybe he should look into why so few people come?  Are the recitals too long?  Are people too booked up with other things?  Something else?  It could be making some changes might improve the number of people who attend.