Q: What are some of your policies concerning parents’ sitting in on lessons? I understand that some teachers don’t mind having parents’ sitting in during the lesson, but other teachers find that it is distracting to students.
A: I really like having the parent in the room, watching, listening to the piano lessons. As a parent myself, I love watching my own children’s learning, so I think that any parent should have that opportunity. Aside, sitting in during the lessons allows the parents to listen to how the music should sound.
When the parent is involved with his or her child’s musical education, the parents may see little things that the parents may not see. A teacher may be looking at the student’s eyes to make sure that he is not purposefully memorizing a piece, so she may not catch that he is slouching. At times, a parent may feel the need to interrupt the lesson to correct either the child or the teacher. This is an unnecessary distraction that will throw off both the student and the teacher. A necessary distraction would be applause and cheers coming from the parents (and teacher!) after an impressive performance.
An acceptable approach to correcting a teacher’s method or to give advice on how to teach the child is to offer feedback after the lesson. For example, a child makes the same mistakes through a certain passage. The parent may bring up this concern after class if the teacher has glossed over it. Another example may be to thank the teacher for being consistent in asking the child to play the passage correctly several times. In the same manner, the student and the teacher should not interrupt the lesson to ask the parent questions nor to seek approval.
At first, a child might feel uncomfortable taking a lesson with his or her parent in the room. This feeling will subside after a few go arounds. After a while, the child may even be so comfortable to allow Mom or Dad to take video. I love getting to this step because it helps the child to be comfortable with an audience. The triad of parent, student, and teacher is what will continue to bring musical harmony into the home.
Mrs Sleppy, professional piano instructor, has been teaching since 2001 and has played weekly for a church since 2005.
