It's All in the Family

It was the last lesson of the school year, I had just come down with pneumonia, and I felt like crude.  There is nothing more distasteful than when the only thing you can put your mind firmly on is the clock ticking away the minutes til you can sit on the couch again.  Ughh.

My student walked in bright eyed and eager with her mother following behind her.  One look at the mother and I knew something was wrong.  It didn't take long before she began to explain.  Her very dear uncle was in the hospital and was not expected to make it.  I gave my condolences and pats and we went on with the lesson as usual.

But if there is one thing I have learned from teaching piano, it is that when you take a student you are not just taking a student, you are taking a family.  If you want to have a successful relationship with your student, you need to have a relationship with the family and sometimes that means doing more than the usual piano teacher stuff.

In the case of my student and her mother, it meant that the next day I went out and bought some dinners to send to them.  For another family, it meant that I wrote an encouraging note to thank the parents for telling how well their student was practicing.  For all of the students, I write thank you notes for the gifts they give me at Christmas.  And when we play games in the lessons I will often have the parents play with us.

More Ideas:
1.  Give small birthday gifts
2. Give end of year letters
3. Take students and their families out to special events like a symphony performance or musical
4. Send out periodic newsletters to all the parents with updates on what everyone is doing

But above all the other things you can do to support your students and their parents the best is to simply listen and be their friend.  Ask them about their week and listen sincerely.  Ask your parents to tell you what they are seeing at home.  "Is there a piece Johnny is playing more than the others?" "Do you notice him struggling with something?"  "What is Johnny really interested in in school right now?"  (Sometimes I will use his interests to illustrate a point in a lesson, ie. fly into the notes like Superman, hop on the keys like a puppy.)

But I have to tell you the end of the story of my student and her mother.  So, as you know, I went out and bought them a nice dinner, complete with chocolate pie and side casserole.  At the same time, I picked up some breakfast casseroles for a party I was going to hold later that week.  Being that I had pneumonia, I was unable to deliver the meal myself and instead sent the whole thing off with my dad to deliver.  Imagine my surprise a few days later to find a chocolate pie, casserole, and dinner in my freezer.  Thankfully the students' family likes breakfast casserole.

How do you make your students' families feel a part of your studio?

Photo Courtesy of: rachel_pics' photostream