Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum How far parents willing to drive for piano lessons?

BTW, as I recall, my three sisters all wore woolen knee socks underneath their rather long skits wool skirts. I suspect that was at least as warm as a pair of wash pants (we weren't allowed to wear jeans to school).

The danger now with global warming is that the lakes don't freeze solid, and they thaw sooner too. I remember watching an ice house or two sailing by at the end of winter. One life saver is knowing that snow never goes below the freezing temperature of water, and if caught in a storm, burrowing into a snowbank just might save you.

Actually you've brought back a few good memories too. I loved listening to the trees crack in the winter, and the absolute silence as everything was muted by the thick snow. The 1 1/2 hour drive to school also went through some spectacular scenery.

Well, we've really derailed that one!

It's probably very common for high-achieving kids (in music, and in any area of study, really) to run out of local options at some point of development. I also know parents who drive kids 1-2 hours one-way for music lessons----probably still easier than the traveling sports team, though. There are also parents (in US and elsewhere) who travel with kids by train or air on a weekly basis to seek lessons from the best teachers they can find in the country. For sports and academics, some kids live away from home in teenage years in order to be with the best coach or the best school... The talent development research that I've read has all indicated that dedicated parental involvement, including the willingness to drive kids to lessons and competitions (this is more for sports), is one of the essential factors for kids' success.

Interesting lesson on geography and climatology.

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Yep, I've enjoyed reading it! (Un)fortunately I've nothing to contribute, being from sunny down under. Midwinter here, and a mild 13C.

I didn't see that comment. I did NOT at ANY TIME advocate denying children experiences. I wrote in as comments began to drift to older students heading for a career, because "parents willing to drive" suggests young children. I wrote that for a young child of 6 or 7, long trips of an hour or more to lessons is not ideal because such children tire more quickly. Even if they force themselves to be attentive, it will be hard for them, and lessons that are closer by are more likely to be chosen. And this, in turn, was to answer the question in the header.

Where, in this, am I "denying children experiences"? And what does the Xbox have to do with it?

The other spin-off topic was that in the 1960's girls in northern Ontario were not allowed to wear long pants to protect their legs. Woolen socks weren't worn anymore by then. If a girl came to high school in slacks, the principal shamed them by wrapping them in newspaper for the day. Is this an experience that you would like modern children not to be "denied"? Yes, we have to learn to endure discomfort and pain in life, but not when it's imposed by sheer stupidity.

It's definitely stupid - I couldn't agree more. Even in sunny down under in the 60s we were allowed to wear thick black stockings in winter.
(I didn't read your posts as "denying children experiences" at all, btw)

I got the impression, perhaps not what you intended, that you weren't too happy facing life's vicissitudes, but I suspect that formed your character in a rather substantial manner. Unfortunately, there are too many parents who do shelter their children in the extreme, and this cannot be good for either the children nor society at large.

John--

I teach a studio full of sheltered children who live inside a giant bubble. For many of them, I'm the only adversity they'll face in life until they get into college, or until they finish grad school and try to find a job.

Some parents appreciate the adversity I provide. Others just want to keep the bubble adversity-free.

I don't find this particularly controversial. This is something most parents get intuitively. And no one seems to have disagreed with you. In fact, a review of the thread shows no one talking about substantial numbers of their seven year old students taking 2 hour trips to lessons. The discussion of long trips got more intense precisely in reference to older students with serious musical pursuits (and I'm one of those who brought that up). I have some experience at that, having schlepped a young one from Virginia to Ohio for training. And no, I haven't yet handed him the car keys for that. In fact, on most of the trips we left the driving to Delta, American, or USAir.

Neither do I. You asked why I thought it involved younger children, and that was my answer to that question.

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Distance seems to be a big issue for parents over here. I find that the vast majority of my students live within a mile or two and quite a lot are within walking distance. The main factor is that family commitments and schedules are stretched to the limits. There is simply not time for people to spend an hour driving to and from piano lessons. Most complain to me if the journey takes longer than ten minutes due to traffic or road works. I also teach in a school where it is just more convenient for parents who then don't even need to bother taking their kids anywhere outside of school hours.

This has actually influenced my decision whether or not to move house. If I moved even five or ten miles to the next town I would probably lose over half my teaching practice.

Ouch, Chris. That's terrible lock-in. And it doesn't say a whole heck of a lot positive about the motivations of the families that make up that half of your student population.

If you did move, how long do you suppose it would take for you to push the numbers back to normal?

For us a lesson can't be more than 40 minutes away and that long of a drive is really for areas she is already excelling and we can't find the same instruction close to home.

I was one who never thought I'd drive 20 minutes(later I was driving the 40) And then I was the mom who said she would never have before school lessons for her kid (started these 2 years ago) and then I was the mom who said - You have to be there at 5am?! It's not important enough that we would ever have to be 30 minutes away and have to be somewhere at 5am (this weekend began lessons where I have to get up at 3:45am to get her there and ready by 5am).

I think parents driving their kids long travel times tend to be highly committed...because now they have invested not only their money but also a lot of their own time.

If you live in a more densely populated area there will always be a piano teacher in close proximity. The problem I have is that there are several teachers in my town so many people simply go with the closest or cheapest. The more motivated and commited students might stay loyal and be willing to travel further but these students do not make up the majority of any full time teaching studio.

If I did move it would probably take a year to get back to a full book but that's a long time to manage on a part time income.

I think it is not if the parents are willing to drive a longer distance for lessons. If they see the value, most will. MaggieGirl would do. I have a close friend drive her kids 1 hour one way for piano lessons.

For what I know, this is how parents find piano teachers:
1. Referral
2. Search by qualifications

This is how parents select piano teachers:
1. Available lesson time that fits schedule
2. Distance
3. Price

In the populated regions, with the above process, parents are most likely able to find a piano teacher close by. It is not that the parents are not willing to drive, it is just that they don't have to.

Referral should be the top student source of a teacher. If it is not, there is a problem.

And the dark secret: the difference, it is not the musical or teaching skills. Like all service oriented business, it is the people skills.

Monkeys, I would agree with almost everything you said except that parents seek teachers by qualifications. In all my years of teaching I have hardly ever been asked about qualifications. The mistaken assumption is that highly qualifified teachers are not needed for teaching a beginner the basics. I have been told countless times by people that they are just looking for a teacher to 'get them started' and that they will look for a better (more expensive) teacher if they turn out to be any good at it. Same thing with spending money on a decent instrument unfortunately.

Also a lot of people now find teachers through Internet searching. So it's not the musical skills, teaching skills or people skills that count. It's the IT skills!

Parents need to have some ideas about music instructions in order to find the right teacher. I never had instrument lessons as a kid. As an adult student, I found my first teacher based on recommendations from a local music school, personality, and qualifications (the teacher had a bachelor’s degree in a music field). Within a few months I was able to see that the teacher’s training and what I needed from a teacher were a mismatch. I learned my lesson, and did research (there are actually lots of books and articles out there for parents). Later on when I looked for teachers for me and for my children, I was able to find teachers who have the qualifications that suit our needs, and who have the right chemistry with the students.

I have been and still am willing to drive my kids for an hour (even when they were 6) to the right teacher (or class) if that activity is what my kids are good at and enthusiastic about.