I (Emily) really enjoy being a private music teacher. Having a full studio this year, has been fun and a lot of work. I love working with kids and building relationships with them. Laughing with them (and at them, when appropriate), listening to their stories, and hearing about their lives.... oh yeah, and we play music too... ☺
Usually at least once a week, I am highly amused by something a student says... Most aren't worth repeating as the context and student's personalty play a large part, but this week there where some classics! This collection of comments and conversations is from the past 5 or so months of teaching. I hope they make you smile at least a little bit.
Let's start with practice (or rather lack-of-practice) conversations. Some students will just admit that they didn't practice, others come up with rather interesting reasons as to why they didn't practice.
"We cram a lot of things into our days.... (student pauses).... Like vacuuming." [I'm sure this student doesn't do much vacuuming himself--- especially based on his next sentence] "And I have to pick up my bedroom every 3 seconds, because otherwise it looks like a bomb exploded in there." [okay, yeah, maybe you do live in a very messy house... but how do you find time to play those video games you were telling me about last week....?]
"I can't practice... Our keyboard is in our downstairs and my parents pile their clothes on top of it... and they'll yell at me if I move their clothes." [I'm not buying this one, pretty sure that the parents would be okay with them practicing, even if it meant moving the laundry.]
This is my all time favorite: a 6 yr old boy walks confidently into our 3rd or 4th lesson of the year, abruptly stops in the middle of the room, groans, and tragically exclaims, "Oh!!! I FORGOT to PRACTICE" [I guess practice never crossed his mind, until he was in the middle of my studio... ]
I've heard lots of other reasons for not practicing. The good old standard, "I was busy", is true in many cases, some kids are involved in a lot of activities. I'm waiting for the day a student will walk in and tell me why they practiced so much.
A couple other fun stories from the studio:
1st grader gets ready to play one of her pieces, we look over the music and figure out where she should put her hands on the piano. She realizes that for this piece she doesn't need to use her left hand, and exclaims. "No B's... No G's... No left hand!... My life is FREEEEEE!!!"
This same student tends to be a bit dramatic. She's also located the notes E and F on the piano and then said "It's like they are in love" "Why?" I ask... "Because they are right next to each other!!" [If you are not familiar with the piano, this one might not make a lot of sense. But she is correct, the white keys E and F on a piano are not separated by a black key like most of the rest of the notes are.... This means that B and C must also be in a relationship, because there isn't a black key between them either. ;) ]
1st grade boy, in the middle of the lesson, randomly shared with me "I'm allergic to girls".... to which I respond "You are allergic to me??" He continues "No, only at school. Want to know why?... Cause when I am around them I sneeze." [I'm just glad he hasn't sneezed when I'm around him, or he might conclude that he was allergic to piano lessons or the piano teacher, who knows....]
You know you teach music in a rural area, when you have to explain what "rush hour" is to a 2nd grader. She didn't understand why the song in her book called Rush Hour had lyrics about honking trucks and cars.
I asked a 4th grader if he had done anything unusual that week, he says "I ate lunch". [No worries, he is from a good home, and gets fed regularly.]
I teach students throughout the school day at a charter school 2 days a week. I get kids from various classrooms in the building, but the gym is in the middle of everything, so I'm frequently dodging dodgeballs, or trying to stay clear of hockey sticks as I go to fetch a student. But perhaps the worst time to go through there is when the Pre-K and K class is playing freeze tag. I've gotten frozen before, and had to wait for help before I could resume whatever it was that I was on my way to do. ☺
That's enough for now, I hoped you laughed at least once while reading this. Laughter is good for the soul. Have a lovely weekend.
Usually at least once a week, I am highly amused by something a student says... Most aren't worth repeating as the context and student's personalty play a large part, but this week there where some classics! This collection of comments and conversations is from the past 5 or so months of teaching. I hope they make you smile at least a little bit.
Let's start with practice (or rather lack-of-practice) conversations. Some students will just admit that they didn't practice, others come up with rather interesting reasons as to why they didn't practice.
"We cram a lot of things into our days.... (student pauses).... Like vacuuming." [I'm sure this student doesn't do much vacuuming himself--- especially based on his next sentence] "And I have to pick up my bedroom every 3 seconds, because otherwise it looks like a bomb exploded in there." [okay, yeah, maybe you do live in a very messy house... but how do you find time to play those video games you were telling me about last week....?]
"I can't practice... Our keyboard is in our downstairs and my parents pile their clothes on top of it... and they'll yell at me if I move their clothes." [I'm not buying this one, pretty sure that the parents would be okay with them practicing, even if it meant moving the laundry.]
This is my all time favorite: a 6 yr old boy walks confidently into our 3rd or 4th lesson of the year, abruptly stops in the middle of the room, groans, and tragically exclaims, "Oh!!! I FORGOT to PRACTICE" [I guess practice never crossed his mind, until he was in the middle of my studio... ]
I've heard lots of other reasons for not practicing. The good old standard, "I was busy", is true in many cases, some kids are involved in a lot of activities. I'm waiting for the day a student will walk in and tell me why they practiced so much.
A couple other fun stories from the studio:
1st grader gets ready to play one of her pieces, we look over the music and figure out where she should put her hands on the piano. She realizes that for this piece she doesn't need to use her left hand, and exclaims. "No B's... No G's... No left hand!... My life is FREEEEEE!!!"
This same student tends to be a bit dramatic. She's also located the notes E and F on the piano and then said "It's like they are in love" "Why?" I ask... "Because they are right next to each other!!" [If you are not familiar with the piano, this one might not make a lot of sense. But she is correct, the white keys E and F on a piano are not separated by a black key like most of the rest of the notes are.... This means that B and C must also be in a relationship, because there isn't a black key between them either. ;) ]
1st grade boy, in the middle of the lesson, randomly shared with me "I'm allergic to girls".... to which I respond "You are allergic to me??" He continues "No, only at school. Want to know why?... Cause when I am around them I sneeze." [I'm just glad he hasn't sneezed when I'm around him, or he might conclude that he was allergic to piano lessons or the piano teacher, who knows....]
You know you teach music in a rural area, when you have to explain what "rush hour" is to a 2nd grader. She didn't understand why the song in her book called Rush Hour had lyrics about honking trucks and cars.
I asked a 4th grader if he had done anything unusual that week, he says "I ate lunch". [No worries, he is from a good home, and gets fed regularly.]
I teach students throughout the school day at a charter school 2 days a week. I get kids from various classrooms in the building, but the gym is in the middle of everything, so I'm frequently dodging dodgeballs, or trying to stay clear of hockey sticks as I go to fetch a student. But perhaps the worst time to go through there is when the Pre-K and K class is playing freeze tag. I've gotten frozen before, and had to wait for help before I could resume whatever it was that I was on my way to do. ☺
That's enough for now, I hoped you laughed at least once while reading this. Laughter is good for the soul. Have a lovely weekend.
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