Instrument teacher has a day job in an unrelated field

[Anonymous]

OP you seem especially haughty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You cannot control how people spend their time. Why are you stalking them anyway. You should not no or care what they do during hours you are not paying for.
Good grief.

I never thought of it like that, but it is kind of stalker like.

It makes me wonder what is reasonable to expect of a music teacher. That they have a degree in music performance, that they have played professionally for X number of years, that they have a degree in music education? What about someone who has a degree in ethnomusicology and is good at their instrument, but never played in a professional orchestra nor had a teaching certificate? What about some one who has played professionally in bands for decades but doesn't have a university degree in music? I think there's a wide range of life experiences and education that are good enough for teaching a total novice. I think people skills are very important here too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait until OP discovers that most public school teachers MUST work during their summer breaks. My DC’s beloved FCPS ES teacher was an Uber driver.

The music teacher quit to sell insurance.

My XSIL made more money as a cocktail server than she did as a Sped teacher with a Masters in FCPS.

And the CNAs at any assisted living work 2-3 jobs.

This is OP. I am not talking about public school teachers. I'm asking about private classical music instruction.

OP still not getting it and won’t hire me — Juilliard grad, did first chairs for while, but also liked math and finance and pays more so went back to school, got my Finance job, make over million a year but still really enjoy music and do some lessons on side so other kids have joy of music too. OP should just go to company and not look at individuals.

You are right, I wouldn’t hire you. Because I’d look for a track record of teaching, which you don’t mention. Julliard grad and whether you played first chair? Tons of people went to music school and even more people were first chair. Not all of those can teach. Maybe not even most of them.

I’d love to hire the trained musician that actually performed that talks about joy for students. If individual doesn’t have website and concerned about teaching results, just ask for number of kids winning the local, star and national competitions and what competitions teacher is associated with. Usually teachers with backgrounds know the competitions that matter and know what takes to excel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG. If OP knew that I am a Reading teacher and do not read books for my leisure, she would die.

If you spent 9-5p as a stockbroker or housecleaner or whale watching guide? Yeah, I would not hire you as a reading teacher. Why would I?

So when Michael Phelps stops swimming 8 hours a day you won’t hire him either as swim instructor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You cannot control how people spend their time. Why are you stalking them anyway. You should not no or care what they do during hours you are not paying for.
Good grief.

I never thought of it like that, but it is kind of stalker like.

It makes me wonder what is reasonable to expect of a music teacher. That they have a degree in music performance, that they have played professionally for X number of years, that they have a degree in music education? What about someone who has a degree in ethnomusicology and is good at their instrument, but never played in a professional orchestra nor had a teaching certificate? What about some one who has played professionally in bands for decades but doesn't have a university degree in music? I think there's a wide range of life experiences and education that are good enough for teaching a total novice. I think people skills are very important here too.

A reasonable expectation is whatever you're willing to pay for to achieve the desired ends. One of my parents was a barely trained musician who simply loved it and played for our church. Several families begged her to teach their kids piano, so she did, cheaply. She was just being nice to them, but had literally none of what you would require from a teacher. The families were all happy with her as a teacher, because all they cared about was a basic introduction to the instrument inexpensively from someone they knew and liked.

You're asking the internet to tell you what you want out of your kid's music lessons and we really can't. If I read right, you already know you want a pretty rigorous experience and you don't know if this person will provide it. The only way to know that is to try it out, possibly you can glean some data from parents of other students but possibly not, because they may not want what you want.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think you would miss out on some good teachers if you were only looking for those who do it full-time. But I do think it is important that teachers be at least somewhat tapped in to the musical education community. Maybe check and see if they are members of MMEA if from Maryland, or an equivalent organization. I say this because my musical kid comes from a non-musical family, and his teacher let us know of wonderful opportunities that we had absolutely no idea were out there.

If you yourself are sufficiently clued in, this might not be necessary, but it is something else to think about!

[Anonymous]

OP, you are WAY overthinking this. Your child is barely even getting started, and there will be many teachers on their musical journey, if they stick with it. Since they're a beginner, find someone that is good with beginners. Doesn't matter what they do during their spare time, but it does matter that they are good with younger students, they choose appropriate repertoire, and that they set the children up well, so that when they have to switch at a later age (it's a matter of when, not if), there is not a bunch of remedial work.

DD's instructor is one of the best in the region for her instrument. With the vast majority of students he takes on, there is a whole bunch of remedial work that needs to be done, before they can start making progress.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not figure out why this would be a problem. What potential problems are you imagining?

It suggests the teacher is not in demand, and having an unrelated job can detract from teacher. Especially if the day job is 9-5. That means most of their time is not spent on music.

WHAT? Teaching children is done after they get home from after school programs, given most parents both work. So then it works, or it's done on the weekends.
IF you actually want a lesson at 3:30pm after your child walks home from school because you (or the nanny) are home, then just ask if a 3:30pm on Tuesdays works.

But NOBODY makes enough money teaching children's music from 3 to 7pm. And they CANNOT offer lessons while kids are in elementary., middle or high school, which is 8 to 3pm.

You are just buying trouble, OP! But whatever, move on and find someone else who sits around all day doing nothing until 3:30pm when they can teach your child. They'll quit and go back to a full time job in a year, though, because they don't make any money. OR they'll charge you $2,000 per 30 minute lesson. That's what I'd do!

AND IF you found an instructor who played in an orchestra or band or whatever, then you'd be pissed that they would cancel lessons when they need to travel to other states/countries to play in said orchestra, band, ensemble. AND playing an instrument beautifully and teaching another how to play that instrument are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. Not everyone teaches well - you need to find someone who teaches well.

[Anonymous]

Hopefully the teacher rejects this crazy stage mom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do this person a favor and pass. You seem like a judgemental nightmare.

Agree with this. You know, being a Tiger Mom isn't actually good for your child's mental health, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not figure out why this would be a problem. What potential problems are you imagining?

It suggests the teacher is not in demand, and having an unrelated job can detract from teacher. Especially if the day job is 9-5. That means most of their time is not spent on music.

WHAT? Teaching children is done after they get home from after school programs, given most parents both work. So then it works, or it's done on the weekends.
IF you actually want a lesson at 3:30pm after your child walks home from school because you (or the nanny) are home, then just ask if a 3:30pm on Tuesdays works.

But NOBODY makes enough money teaching children's music from 3 to 7pm. And they CANNOT offer lessons while kids are in elementary., middle or high school, which is 8 to 3pm.

You are just buying trouble, OP! But whatever, move on and find someone else who sits around all day doing nothing until 3:30pm when they can teach your child. They'll quit and go back to a full time job in a year, though, because they don't make any money. OR they'll charge you $2,000 per 30 minute lesson. That's what I'd do!

AND IF you found an instructor who played in an orchestra or band or whatever, then you'd be pissed that they would cancel lessons when they need to travel to other states/countries to play in said orchestra, band, ensemble. AND playing an instrument beautifully and teaching another how to play that instrument are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. Not everyone teaches well - you need to find someone who teaches well.

I don't think the issue is with the working during the day. The question is whether it matters if those daytime working hours are in or out of the field of music. Would you want a teacher who taught orchestra or played in an ensemble to also teach, or would you want a pharmacist tech who moonlights on the side as a cello teacher?

[Anonymous]

I knew a guy who was singing Collins in La Boheme in a large city but still working his day job. Music is a gig job so you never know where your next performance will be and a day job comes with things like health insurance and benefits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can not figure out why this would be a problem. What potential problems are you imagining?

It suggests the teacher is not in demand, and having an unrelated job can detract from teacher. Especially if the day job is 9-5. That means most of their time is not spent on music.

WHAT? Teaching children is done after they get home from after school programs, given most parents both work. So then it works, or it's done on the weekends.
IF you actually want a lesson at 3:30pm after your child walks home from school because you (or the nanny) are home, then just ask if a 3:30pm on Tuesdays works.

But NOBODY makes enough money teaching children's music from 3 to 7pm. And they CANNOT offer lessons while kids are in elementary., middle or high school, which is 8 to 3pm.

You are just buying trouble, OP! But whatever, move on and find someone else who sits around all day doing nothing until 3:30pm when they can teach your child. They'll quit and go back to a full time job in a year, though, because they don't make any money. OR they'll charge you $2,000 per 30 minute lesson. That's what I'd do!

AND IF you found an instructor who played in an orchestra or band or whatever, then you'd be pissed that they would cancel lessons when they need to travel to other states/countries to play in said orchestra, band, ensemble. AND playing an instrument beautifully and teaching another how to play that instrument are TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. Not everyone teaches well - you need to find someone who teaches well.

I don't think the issue is with the working during the day. The question is whether it matters if those daytime working hours are in or out of the field of music. Would you want a teacher who taught orchestra or played in an ensemble to also teach, or would you want a pharmacist tech who moonlights on the side as a cello teacher?

Pharmacist tech that moonlights

[Anonymous]

OP here. I'm finding all the responses really interesting, even the insulting ones. I have gone ahead and booked a free "meet and greet" lesson for next week, so we will see how it goes. I did lay out some of my concerns with current teacher and what DD is looking for as well as my own hopes for the switch and new teacher seemed to get it.

And for people who think I'm being haughty, it's not that DD is SO GOOD that she needs an expert teacher. It's not! It's precisely because she is a beginner that I want her to start well and learn the correct methods so she doesn't hurt herself physically or musically longterm. I played piano as a child and didn't learn proper form and injured myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm finding all the responses really interesting, even the insulting ones. I have gone ahead and booked a free "meet and greet" lesson for next week, so we will see how it goes. I did lay out some of my concerns with current teacher and what DD is looking for as well as my own hopes for the switch and new teacher seemed to get it.

And for people who think I'm being haughty, it's not that DD is SO GOOD that she needs an expert teacher. It's not! It's precisely because she is a beginner that I want her to start well and learn the correct methods so she doesn't hurt herself physically or musically longterm. I played piano as a child and didn't learn proper form and injured myself.

The thing is, there are tons of pros who will teach bad form and those with day jobs thay teach good form. Their day job really isn't a good predictor at all.