Piano teachers fight a constant battle against overscheduled children. These days, piano lessons are just one aspect of a family’s weekly schedule. Chances are, your students also partake in dance, baseball, hockey, and theater, to name a few.
Overscheduled students used to frustrate me. I always wanted my students’ number one priority to be piano. But now that I’ve been a parent for a few years, my attitude has shifted slightly.
While my own children are not overscheduled, piano lessons are not their only activity… and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In an era when the average twelve-year-old is spending six hours a day online, I am grateful that my children use their time to explore dance, track and field, tennis AND piano.
And this appreciation should extend to our piano students. While kids should not be overscheduled, there is nothing wrong with kids being appropriately scheduled. In fact, kids who have additional interests will be less likely to experience piano lesson burnout.
For this reason, I think it may be time for piano teachers to embrace our students’ other extra-curricular activities. In today’s post, I am sharing a simple strategy you can use to show your students you appreciate their other interests, while also ensuring they never, ever quit piano lessons.
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Last weekend my nephew’s first-grade teacher showed up at his baseball game. When he looked into the stands for his every-game wave to his parents he lost his happy, little mind when he saw his teacher seated next to Mom and Dad.
It was a simple gesture that will be remembered forever. She was already a wonderful teacher, but her attendance at his ballgame propelled her to legendary status.
While chatting with my brother after the game, he told me that the first-grade teacher had sent an email to every parent in her class, stating that she would love to attend her students’ extra-curricular activities and to let her know the time and place when an event would occur.
And while her attendance at the game certainly meant the world to my nephew, I can only imagine that the benefits of her actions also extended to the classroom. Seeing her students outside of school presents them in a new light to the teacher and will give her a deeper understanding of what makes those kiddos tick.
Start Using This Relationship Building Tool This Summer
I think all piano teachers should try this teacher’s relationship-building strategy. You don’t have to fill your weekends with the extra-curricular activities of other people’s children, but making time over the course of an entire year to create one special moment for each of your students will form a bond that will last a lifetime.
But the benefits don’t end there! This simple strategy will grow your studio. The small act of attending a piano student’s other activities will make you the talk of the town. Who wouldn’t want their own child to take piano lessons with someone who cares so much about her students?
So, I suggest you get started immediately 🙂
With piano lessons wrapping up for the summer, you may actually have the time in your schedule to catch a football game, a baseball game or a summer theater performance.
