My son, who will be a sophomore next year plans to make music education his career. He plays multiple instruments and music is his life. He participates in concert band, marching band, jazz band, show band, drum and bugle corp (summer). He has already earned his varsity letter (as a freshman) and has made a few honors bands.
He wants to start working, so I said he should consider being a music lesson teacher to 5th graders who are just starting out (with the instruments that he plays). He could charge $10 a 1/2 hour, which is about half of the going rate of more qualified. This way, while he won't be working a lot, he will be making significantly more than a typical teen job and it can work around his crazy schedule.
So...finally to the question. Knowing my sons qualifications, would you hire him to teach your new music student (here, they are 5th graders) and is $10 a half hour too much? Do you prefer hour lessons?
Thanks for any feedback, I just want to know if this is a feasible option for him.
Thank you all for the feedback so far.
He wouldn't start lessons until this fall, when 5th graders start. He could teach throughout the year, but the summers he is usually gone with the drum corp (possibly not next summer of 2015). I agree with the teaching background. He doesn't have any, but has taught himself some instruments. He has three younger siblings, but they don't listen to him ;). I love the idea about helping out in some way so he can get teaching experience. I think he can start that this summer since students in the drum corp sometimes learn new instruments to be able to march.
The music program here is amazing, so the kids go into 5th grade knowing how to read music already. He would basically be working on what they are learning in band class and some scales. He has also had lessons, so he knows what goes on.
I also agree with the schedule....parents expect one and for him not to miss weeks. I would be annoyed if he was not consistent.
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Thanks again everyone! I think I will state it as tutoring. I really think his goal for the 5th graders is to help them practice what they are working on in band class with someone. I know they don't have band here everyday, so it would be good to have someone who knows how to play to help them along during the week and more individualized attention to details.
Hoping he can get some practice this summer teaching and will go for it.
I think $10/hr is VERY fair. Cheap, maybe.
Yes I would!
Help him put together a little flyer for the elem. aged kids' music teachers!
Honestly I wouldn't hire a teenager for music lessons for a beginner, but that's coming from someone for whom cost isn't an issue because my in-laws pay for piano lessons. If my choice was between paying a teenager a reasonable rate or no private lessons at all, I would give the teenager a chance.
Actually little kids learn really well from teenagers. I think it's a lovely idea. And no, $10 half hour is not unreasonable. Maybe he can start with some kids you already know? I'd absolutely give your son a try.
:)
Ten dollars per half hour is very reasonable. The going rate for private lessons on any instrument around us is at least $1.00 per minute, so half-hour lessons are a minimum of $30. I wouldn't pay a high schooler $30 for 30 minutes because that's the rate we pay a professional for our kid's half-hour piano lessons. Half-hour is plenty -- one-hour lessons for younger kids are done by some teachers, but if this is his first teaching job he truly needs to keep things limited and half-hour lessons are enough for most younger elementary kids.
The tough thing may be, as someone else said, that he may not know teaching techniques. There's a big difference between knowing how to play an instrument and knowing how to teach that instrument to another person.
Does he have any experience, for example, in helping other high school students practice? Has he worked with younger kids in any setting such as perhaps HS students going to play for or work with elementary music students during the school year? Sometimes HS and elementary school music teachers have HS students come to help with things as part of HS service hours. If he has things like that in his background it will make parents much more interested in hiring him, to be honest. That's something he could push to do next school year -- he should form a relationship with some ES music teachers (via his HS music teacher) and try to get into elementary schools as an assistant or tutor if possible, and the next summer he will be golden for teaching on his own.
He sure can start this summer, of course! He just needs to be prepared for parents asking him about his teaching skills, not just his musical experience. He also should have a solid plan in place about things like what music books he plans to use (parents need to know before the lessons begin, so they can purchase the books he wants to use), where he will do lessons (at people's homes? at your house?), what "homework" he will give a student between lessons, and so on.
Be aware that some parents may not hire him because he wouldn't be able to continue teaching their child once summer is over. He should be careful to tell parents that these are summer-only "introduction" or "brush-up" lessons (for kids who have already started an instrument).
Also, if you have family vacations planned, you and he must know that whole schedule up front. If you are gone for a big chunk of summer, he shouldn't try to teach.
Our daughter had violin lessons with a professional teacher (via a local music store) just for the summer a few years back; after two lessons the teacher announced that she was going away for four weeks on a summer vacation and would pick up with us when she returned. These were summer-only lessons and we were furious that she didn't tell us when we signed up that she would be vanishing two weeks later -- this was not a family emergency but a long-planned vacation she did not even mention it when we booked summer lessons with her. We told her that a four-week gap would not work for us and we found another teacher but it was tough and left us with a very poor impression of the first teacher. Parents DO understand that summer teachers have vacations too - but your son should be ready to offer things like two lessons in a week to make up for a week he misses due to your family vacation, and so on.
Most all music lessons around here are 30 to 45 minutes max. The average price is $1 per minute.
I think it is great if he pursues this, but.... the only drawback I see would be if he is teaching correctly per the way a child would be taught by a professional.
I do think it would be great if his current music teachers at school knew he wanted to do this because they could refer him to other music teachers who teach the 5th grade level and get him in contact with potential clients.
Good for him using his initiative!!
He sounds more qualified than the kids on the list our music teacher handed out and all of them commanded 25 for a half an hour. For me the big sell is if my kids like the teacher. My daughter's violin teacher gave her fits, bad match, so we dropped him.
Fifth grade a half an hour is good. If he has a student that just doesn't seem to want to leave, offer an hour.
I am a musician and both my kids take lessons. I would hire him.
Yes, I would absolutely hire him. I always liked hiring teens where possible, because I like supporting teens working. Also, your son will probably enjoy working with a teen. And it doesn't hurt that people can get him for half the going rate.
I think $10/half hr. is perfect. Someone below said it's too much, but this is music lessons we're talking about, which are typically very expensive.
Great idea!
I would have loved that kind of arrangement when my daughter was taking lessons, or even when I started lessons as an adult.
I paid $20 for half-hour lessons.
I think half hour lessons are perfect. Especially for 5th graders. That's when I started playing as well. 1/2 hour practice was enough at that age.
It wasn't until I hit my sophmore year and was playing multiple instruments in multiple music classes that I started practicing an hour or more.
Good luck to him!
I would give him a shot. The price seems reasonable. However, given that he hasn't taught before, there is a chance that he is going to be unable to get through to the kids.
I think $10/hr. is too much. I think your son should charge $7.00/hr. To put it in perspective, my 4th grader's math tutor is absolutely amazing. She is 18 years old (just finished her freshman year in college), and charges $8.00/hr. I think $7/hr. (all cash, tax free) is a very fair rate for your young son to charge.
my kids love teenagers! I'd be willing to pay that.
Absolutely! Sounds like a great idea. Not to mention, a great thing to put on a college application!
Honestly? No. My daughter's flute teacher was a professional and was terrific. My daughter learned so much from her. She was older and very patient with her. My daughter went on to be in several AP bands in High School. She decided against a music career when she started college.
My son's first drum instructor was actually his band director. Then we went with a young man who was getting his masters in music from Rice and was the drum instructor for the drum line in High School.
I had a lot of choices living in a big city with several universities around.
My question, too, would be the actual "teaching" experience. Someone (even adults) can know how to do something fabulously well, and not be able to teach it to someone else. Then you throw into the mix that these will be 10 year olds or so.
My concern as a parent might be regarding the kids picking up bad habits, or his communication with the students coming across as too critical.
My daughter has been taking piano for several years. She's fairly good. She also plays clarinet in the school band (just finished her 2nd year). She has (unfortunately) had 4 different piano teachers now. The first one was great. The 2nd one was extremely talented as a pianist and able to write her own music /accompaniament (sp?) for pieces that she could modify on the fly for my daughter... but her actual teaching was not as stable as her abilities as a pianist. She didn't get the best out of my daughter, and didn't really push her much. Didn't know how to really tap into her mind to get her working and on track, and often just rehashed stuff from one lesson to the next rather randomly... she did correct some of my daughter's errors she had picked up while "teaching herself" in between teachers, but was erratic in sticking to a schedule and didn't see to be aware when it was time to move on to the next step in her lessons. My daughter became bored.
We took a break, and stumbled upon a new teacher. Fantastic teacher! Who knew exactly how to praise and critique her. Just how far to push so that my daughter was motivated more, not down on herself, and yet didn't let her get lazy or complacent, either. She had a bubbly personality, and was enthused to be teaching my daughter. She let real disappointment be heard in her voice when my daughter had been slacking, and true excitement when she stepped up and mastered something that was difficult. Daughter LOVED lessons again. She progressed so fast and so far in just a few short months under this teacher. Then, the teacher moved. :(
We are on our 4th (and just found out she is going back to school and is done the end of this month). She is also a very talented pianist, and super sweet, gives good instruction and appropriate corrections. But, my daughter isn't enthused about lessons anymore. She likes playing. But the teacher doesn't know how to tap into her motivationally and challenge her appropriately.
We shall see what teacher #5 brings.
All that to say... that unless he has actually TAUGHT lessons before, I'd be skeptical a bit. Frankly, even some folks who have taught before, I am skeptical until I've heard/seen a lesson to see how they interact with my child.
Perhaps, offering a first lesson free or something that gives parents a chance to see what they think would help.
Or, as someone else mentioned, perhaps refer to it as tutoring rather than teaching beginners? Tutoring brings to mind an accomplished amateur helping, rather than a qualified instructor, which, frankly, your son isn't. Regardless of how accomplished he may be as a musician himself.
I was very good on my instrument back in my day... but I would never presume to "teach" it. Not even to my own daughter.
And as another poster mentioned, he will need to have his curriculum planned out.
Good luck to him.
Oh.. and pricewise? Excellent! I might even pay $12 per half hour. That's still half (or less than half) of a "professional" piano lesson around here.
I pay our adult piano teacher $7 for a half hour. She's very reasonable. I know in your area it is likely to be more expensive.
I wouldn't hire a tutor for a beginning instrument. But I might hire one for a kiddo that is further along and knows that's what they like to do.
If I was working on a piece that was difficult and needed some help when I was in high school I think a private lesson could have helped me. I had a couple of solo's my junior and senior year. I was so embarrassed when I couldn't "get" them quickly. I would have felt much more comfortable with a peer instead of the teacher.
It can't possibly hurt for him to advertise private tutoring. Private lesson seems to infer more of a professional teaching where tutoring implies a peer helping a peer.
