I teach 36 students and have been hired to work 10 hours a week at a local publishing company (which I also like to do). I need to cut my studio load down. I would like some suggestions on how to diplomatically get students to leave my studio and to go to other teachers in this area. In the past I just let those who wanted to quit to do so...through attrition. Now I need to let a bunch of them go and I'm not sure how to handle this. I will keep my current load until recital but then would like to tell certain ones that I am working part-time and need to have them take from another teacher who I will gladly recommend. This is very hard for me. Any ideas?

-- Sandy Wilkinson (sandy@pianomail.net), February 06, 2004

Answers

Hi, Sandy-- I guess there are many ways to reduce your student load; to be fair, you probably need to have a definite plan. First, release those that want to quit. Second, release those who are the most recent additions to your studio. Another possibility is to release the youngest students as they have plenty of time to adapt to a new teacher. I'm sure this always presents the problem of "But that one is one of my best students!" There may even be a way around this, by having the one or two who don't fit into the selected culling process take a month or two off, and then re-enter your total. This is perhaps a bit "shady", and maybe you can think of another way to deal with those you really want to keep! Most teachers I know use the last in, first out method---however I do know one teacher who just tells parents she has no rapport with their child, and needs to let them go. This would bother me, but the teacher who does this seems to have no problem with her method!

Hope these suggestions are useful. Ruth Farkas in Idaho

-- Ruth Farkas (satb88@sbcglobal.net), February 07, 2004.

I would pick the students that would have the least difficulty transferring to another teacher to leave my studio. In other words, I would teach the ones who seem to need me the most for their personal development.

For instance, I've taught one boy for six years and he has great difficulty playing the piano. He would not likely get a teacher after me who has the proper patience for him. I'm lucky to get one phrase in either hand out of him. So I would likely keep him.

Likely, your schedule and theirs will probably decide most of this for you.

But you may not like hearing what I'm going to say. I actually don't think you should have taken the new job with all these children relying on you and getting to like you.

-- Anita (anitagreenways@hotmail.com), March 27, 2004.