By Jamey Mann This July I had the privilege of studying with Andrea Cannon for my Suzuki Book 1 certification for guitar. The training is a humbling experience which made me realize how much more I have to learn and how the techniques used in Suzuki can be applied to not just the very young but with older students as well. One central aspect of the...
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If you run a studio, one of your biggest tasks is keeping a staff of good teachers. That can be one of the hardest parts of your job. I’ve managed music lesson studios and hired teachers and I can honestly say this was one of the more stressful parts of the job. Here are some of the things I learned. Please feel free to add your own input. I’m sure many studio owners would love to know how others handle this task!
1. Have them teach you a lesson.
Whenever I interviewed for teaching jobs as a teacher, the best schools had me teach a mock lesson. The ones that just interviewed me like any business would have, ended up being disorganized programs with lots of unhappy teachers and badly behaved children. When a school has you do a mock lesson, it shows the candidate that this is a serious institution and we only hire quality teachers. The lesson doesn’t have to be long. You can have your candidate teach you a specific type of lesson, perhaps a beginner piano lesson or maybe a lesson on reading 8th notes. If your school caters to more advanced students, have them critique a performance of an intermediate/advanced student.
2. Take the mock lesson with a grain of salt.
I know this sounds contradictory, but it’s not. The mock lesson IS important. It shows you how organized the candidate is,
By Wayne Estes Do your students get frustrated when they practice to a metronome? Years ago, when I first began teaching some part-time lessons to friend’s kids I did not have a home or studio to teach in, so I taught in each students home, driving from house to house. This gave me a bunch of great experience in seeing the family dynamic and it created some...
Read MoreBy Alyssa Cowell Music lessons are a valuable tool for developing growing minds, honing fine motor skills, finding a creative outlet for self-expression, and a myriad other personal benefits for young and old alike. Families who sign up for music lessons are making an investment in their child’s education, and should make sure they are getting the most out of that investment: Music Theory as a part...
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So it is Spring 2015, you have a great studio, but you still have that one student who you just aren't clicking with. Your personalities don't match, you don't communicate well, you haven't been able to figure out their learning style...
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