Have you/would you drop a student

I have a full time job, and teach on the side because I love sharing my knowledge with others, not as a main source of income. Because of this, if i've got a student that doesn't practice or isn't really into drumming, I let them go. Luckily I can give the student a few other names of teachers around that would happily take on a new student. It's just so unsatisfying trying to teach a student who doesn't want to learn.
 
I have never actively dropped a student . . . but there have been kids that I let go without a fight. The reality is that I can't justify turning students and income away.

I've always been a believer in getting students into playing songs ASAP . . . and then using the songs to teach theory. If they won't practice exercises or rudiment, they might practice playing along to a song that's also in Rockband! I can sneak in the info about reading and technique as they learn to play basic songs.
 
I have never actively dropped a student . . . but there have been kids that I let go without a fight. The reality is that I can't justify turning students and income away.

I've always been a believer in getting students into playing songs ASAP . . . and then using the songs to teach theory. If they won't practice exercises or rudiment, they might practice playing along to a song that's also in Rockband! I can sneak in the info about reading and technique as they learn to play basic songs.

I like the way you think. ;-)
 
I have never actively dropped a student . . . but there have been kids that I let go without a fight. The reality is that I can't justify turning students and income away.

I've always been a believer in getting students into playing songs ASAP . . . and then using the songs to teach theory. If they won't practice exercises or rudiment, they might practice playing along to a song that's also in Rockband! I can sneak in the info about reading and technique as they learn to play basic songs.

I take the same approach in my lessons. I think it keeps students interests a lot more if they can play a song, I can teach them the techniques to play the song, and hopefully they can practice those techniques in the song. Especially for guitar, it's a lot more satisfying to be able to play a song, rather than just practicing chords.
 
I don't teach songs, unless they REALLY want to. Most of my students are gigging, so I can talk about efficiency in setting up, how to treat the sound guy, what you want in the foldback wedges, playing other peoples equipment, then also how to be a slave to the song and play what the song needs.
I also do listening exercises of bands/styles they like to pick out instrumentation, time signatures etc. Don't get me wrong, I still do Technique/Reading/Rudiments but I like to keep it interesting for them. I can't just teach them a book front to back, boring!
 
I like the way you think. ;-)


Why thank you!


There is something very cool about seeing a 7 year old get all excited when they realize that they can play along to a White Stripes or Beatles song after only a few lessons.They're eyes get all big and they smile and giggle. Suddenly, music is something THEY can do.

If they can do that, then I will have a student for at least a year.
 
hi all ! as the parent of a student i must commend you all for the work put into teaching or kids. i have read this whole thread and then had jennifer read it also . the sad part of it all is that the fault of most of the problems with teaching a student fall solely on the parent(s) not you as the teacher . i try to have jennifer practice a minimum of 5 days a week at atleast a hour at each practice . getting lessons for our kids is not a cheap prospect which is why i can't understand someone not pushing atleast alittle bit for them to practice.
i know that when its time for jennifers lesson , she has down what her teacher expects . i see no reason to waste the teachers time , my time and money , and jennifers time if she doesn't have a passion for playing . to me the most important thing about a teacher is honesty ! instead of wasting all of the forementioned , if the teacher sees that the potential or passion isn't there , i would hope i would be told and not be lead on just so the teacher could collect lesson fees .
great thread !
 
Can't they be fun and formal? I think so.

Jeff

I suppose they can be but I'm not there to be entertained. If I were a child it would be a requirement to keep me interested. The fun part for me is doing my lessons during the week, learning new stuff and getting better.
 
hi all ! as the parent of a student i must commend you all for the work put into teaching or kids. i have read this whole thread and then had jennifer read it also . the sad part of it all is that the fault of most of the problems with teaching a student fall solely on the parent(s) not you as the teacher . i try to have jennifer practice a minimum of 5 days a week at atleast a hour at each practice . getting lessons for our kids is not a cheap prospect which is why i can't understand someone not pushing atleast alittle bit for them to practice.
i know that when its time for jennifers lesson , she has down what her teacher expects . i see no reason to waste the teachers time , my time and money , and jennifers time if she doesn't have a passion for playing . to me the most important thing about a teacher is honesty ! instead of wasting all of the forementioned , if the teacher sees that the potential or passion isn't there , i would hope i would be told and not be lead on just so the teacher could collect lesson fees .
great thread !
Thanks for your post gwaco. Does Jennifer enjoy the daily practice time for 1 hour? It's awesome when students practice (almost) every day because I believe practicing often is more effective and rewarding than say 2hours for once or twice a week. But still 1 hour seems quite long to me. How old is Jennifer? If she does enjoy and have the energy - no problem - but I know students who are asked to practice for 1 hour a day by their parents and end up not even starting to practice at all because they think it's so long or boring etc.
 
hi all ! as the parent of a student i must commend you all for the work put into teaching or kids. i have read this whole thread and then had jennifer read it also . the sad part of it all is that the fault of most of the problems with teaching a student fall solely on the parent(s) not you as the teacher . i try to have jennifer practice a minimum of 5 days a week at atleast a hour at each practice . getting lessons for our kids is not a cheap prospect which is why i can't understand someone not pushing atleast alittle bit for them to practice.
i know that when its time for jennifers lesson , she has down what her teacher expects . i see no reason to waste the teachers time , my time and money , and jennifers time if she doesn't have a passion for playing . to me the most important thing about a teacher is honesty ! instead of wasting all of the forementioned , if the teacher sees that the potential or passion isn't there , i would hope i would be told and not be lead on just so the teacher could collect lesson fees .
great thread !

Great parent! Many thanks. Even though Jennifer is not my student, I am grateful for your efforts.
Cheers. Wy.
 
This is for you gwaco. My student Taso, who began with me at 5. He is 8 in this photo working as the drummer in a band I played percussion in. This kid has a dad that gets him to practice, and this kid is good! Very very good. He sight reads things like Actual proof in his sleep and has the coordination to perform them.

Taso.jpg


taso2.jpg
 
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I teach at pupil's homes, and have had a pupil that wasn't home / available for lessons a few times in a row when I showed up. I then offered his time slot to someone who was interested in taking lessons from me. He wasn't available at that time slot, but if he was I would have dropped this pupil.
He quit drumming shortly afterwards. Thank God... he had the rhythm and could have developed the physical ability IF he had practised what I told him to practise. Which he rarely did. He just didn't have the focus and work ethic to get proficient at drumming.
 
Well, I was one of those students. I played in a band when I was 8 years old or so. Went to music academy for 6 years or so. Lived in a very musical family and it was all quite forced on me. But I didn't really listen to any music back then. And it was kinda absurd that I was taught jazz in the academy and got back home and started to listen trance and play video games. Then I got to a point where my teacher said I sould get in to a big band and maybe start touring. I chickened out. Not because it wouldn't be great but because I knew I didn't have what it takes. I didn't practice that much, maybe an hour before the lessons just to save my face. Never practiced rudiments and you could hear it. So I told my dad to not pay for my lessons anymore. Let someone more interested have my spot and someone more worthy have my place in the big band.

Then I thought I would be great programmer. Wanted to program games. I was actually quite good at it at some point to a point where I programmed a whole 3D-engine from scratch. Then I got in to astronomy. Got in to the university to study astrophysics. Couple of years went by and I found myself enjoying chemistry. So now I'm almost a master in chemistry.

In the meanwhile I got to know some nice people in the uni who also like music. In the highschool after I stopped playing I started to really listen to music. I mean really listen to it on the bed with my eyes closed. During the university years I had developed my own taste and found people with the same taste and we figured why not try out a band. So we formed a band. And I bought new drums. Immideately on our first practice session without having touched drums for 6-7 years we started jamming an improvising and we were all hooked.

Sooo... here's the best part for all your teachers. What did I do when I started to practice? I started practicing everything I was always told to practice but what I never did. Rudiments, coordination, all the not so fun stuff. And I was glad I was taught the basics, the sight reading, notation the theory. Those things didn't slow me down. And now only thing that's between me and my music is time and my body. But now I know where I want to be and how to get there. When I was a kid I didn't know the destination, and since I have always been a sceptic I didn't want to follow my dad's dream either. Now I have my own dream and I thank all the teachers that have helped me on this joyrney.

So don't look at your worst student like he's just wasting your time. He might be like me. A drummer without destination. Sow some seeds. I know I know who taught me so I know who to thank. =)
 
So don't look at your worst student like he's just wasting your time. He might be like me. A drummer without destination. Sow some seeds. I know I know who taught me so I know who to thank. =)

I loved this story. All my students are number 1!
 
hi all ! as the parent of a student i must commend you all for the work put into teaching or kids. i have read this whole thread and then had jennifer read it also . the sad part of it all is that the fault of most of the problems with teaching a student fall solely on the parent(s) not you as the teacher . i try to have jennifer practice a minimum of 5 days a week at atleast a hour at each practice . getting lessons for our kids is not a cheap prospect which is why i can't understand someone not pushing atleast alittle bit for them to practice.
i know that when its time for jennifers lesson , she has down what her teacher expects . i see no reason to waste the teachers time , my time and money , and jennifers time if she doesn't have a passion for playing . to me the most important thing about a teacher is honesty ! instead of wasting all of the forementioned , if the teacher sees that the potential or passion isn't there , i would hope i would be told and not be lead on just so the teacher could collect lesson fees .
great thread !

I wish I had more parents like you, most of my parents have no idea what is going on in lessons. Many are very surprised when I get their kid up on stage for a little show, and they actually sound good! Most of my drummers don't even own a kit, because their parents won't buy them one. And most of my guitarist parent's attitudes are, I bought them a guitar and they never play it, so you teach them because we already bought the guitar.

But I sort of have to expect all different kinds of parents, for example nobody in my family has any sort of music talents, except for me. Fortunately my parents continued to pay for my lessons, but they had no idea what I was supposed to be learning, or if I was practicing. But the kid who had the time slot before me, his dad came to every lesson with him, and sat in the room to make sure his son was paying attention, and getting the most out of the lesson.
 
I understand your frustration. I taught music professionally for years before recently going back to grad school. Initially I dropped students if they didn't practice, but when I looked deeper into my student's lives I found this practice was overly harsh. Most students taking drum lessons (middle and high school age), have more pressure on them now than ever before.

I know students that begin their day at 7 a.m. and don't get home at night until after dinner five nights per week. I don't know how they are able to do their homework (which is their true priority) let alone practice music. Schools encourage them to try so many different things: sports, music, clubs, community service, etc., that they never get much of a chance to focus on one thing. I tend to disagree with the a la carte approach, but I digress.

I remembered back to when I was taking drum lessons. I was a quiet kid; few friends, no direction, no role model apart from my parents (god bless them). I took drum lessons because my brother stopped taking lessons and my mother had already prepaid, so I went in his place. The drum teacher (Jay) was exactly what I needed. My whole attitude, confidence level, and ambitions changed because of this guy, and it had nothing to do with playing drums per se (although I practiced my ass off). I wanted to be exactly like him. All this is to say that students get so much more out of interactions with us (teachers) than just the music.

Sometimes it is only a matter of changing our expectations rather than those of students. What is wrong with letting a kid come and hang out and listen to music and play some drums? Is there really no benefit to this? Some of the most productive lessons I have ever had involved listening to my college professor (another role model and now friend) talk about music. I never touched a stick in some of these lessons but I came away with so much.

Some kids take longer for the light to switch on with music. Patience and understanding are key. There is so much going on in their lives and it is almost unfair. Some of my students come to me knowing that our lesson time is a place they can relax and talk about things while playing some music. I am no therapist, but aspects of this emerge when we teach, and we need to be willing to accommodate personal and social needs of our students.

Good teachers only use music as a means to convey what is really important.
 
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