I've just drafted up a new student contract, and thought I'd run it by you good folk
Glossary
For the purpose of this document, the word “student†shall come to mean the person receiving the lessons and/or the parent or guardian responsible for them.
1. Payment
Payment is due by the first lesson of each ‘term’. Payment shall include the sum total of all lessons that fall within the respective term. If payment is made by monthly standing order, the student agrees to continue payments until all lessons that fall within the period of notice have been paid for (see section 5.)
2. Term
A ‘term’ shall mean a sequence of lessons that fall within the time frame as defined in the current term letter. There shall be three terms per year comprising a total of 42 lessons per year. The specific number of lessons within each term will vary to fall roughly in line with the local state schools. We do not observe the ‘half-term’ holiday week, and lessons are expected to continue as normal in these weeks. We do not observe Bank Holidays, and lessons are expected to take place as normal on these days.
3. Annual Fee Increase
There shall be a small, annual increase in fees, to be implemented from the first lesson in January.
4. Allocated Time Slots
By making payment at the start of each term, the student agrees to abide by the terms and conditions as laid out in this contract, and thereby secures their agreed time slot indefinitely, so long as it remains practical for both the student and teacher.
The student agrees to attend their lesson at the specific time and day as scheduled for each term. If the student is late for a lesson, the lesson will still end at the scheduled time. The student must make every effort to leave their lesson quietly and promptly, to ensure minimum disruption to the following student. If the student requires time to discuss any issues regarding tuition, including payment etc, they must make time to do so at the beginning of the lesson, or alternatively arrange a time to discuss the matter on the telephone.
5. Notice to Quit
Notice to terminate lessons must be provided in writing with a minimum seven lessons prior notice. The student agrees to pay in full for all remaining lessons within the current term or notice period, whichever is the longer, regardless of whether they intend to take the lessons or not. No refunds will be given for any remaining lessons already paid for in advance.
6. Additional Fees
The student agrees to purchase any sheet music that is required for their studies. The use of photocopies of copyrighted material is not acceptable, and is forbidden by law. When the teacher has purchased music on behalf of the student, the student will remunerate the teacher in full within one week.
When a student is entered for an examination by the teacher, the student agrees to remunerate the teacher in full within one week.
7. Extra Lessons
When extra lessons are needed, for example before exams or concerts, these shall be chargeable at the current rate. Alternatively, they may taken as being in advance of any remaining lessons within the current term, or in place of any lessons previously missed by the teacher. Payment for additional lessons is due on the day of the lesson.
8. Lessons Missed By Student
Lessons missed by the student will not be made good, nor fees refunded. When sufficient notice (minimum 24 hours) is given of cancellation, the teacher may be able to allocate an alternative time slot that shall fall within the teacher’s normal teaching schedule, should one become available. If a mutually convenient time slot cannot be agreed upon before the end of the current term, that lesson shall be forfeit.
continued over
9. Lessons Missed By Teacher
Lessons missed by the teacher will be made good and, if possible, before the end of the current term. If it is not possible to make good these lessons within the current term, they will be credited to the following term.
9. Medical Conditions and Learning Difficulties
The student agrees to inform the teacher of any medical conditions that may manifest in lessons and/or any diagnosed learning difficulties that may affect the progress of the student.
10. Parking
We are allocated one parking space at the front of The Music Grove. This is the space by the wall, furthest away from the premises - none of the remaining spaces are to be used under any circumstances. When available, the student is allowed to park in our allocated space, but only within their allocated lesson time. Under no circumstances will students be permitted to use this parking space at other times. It is expected that the student will make every effort to vacate the space promptly, so as to make it available to the next student who may need it.
Contract
The terms of this contract shall remain in force until the agreed notice period has expired.
My primary concern is whether or not it is a) clear, and b) legally binding? Every so often we have the situation where someone just rings up at the start of the term and says they're quitting, and we currently have no recourse to go after them for the fees that they owe.
Do you think this contract would stand up in a small claims court?
cheers
Wow, there's a lot of conditions on there.
Is your 'studio' part of a larger retail business (like a music shop)? Then you can throw most of that contract out.
A lawyer might appreciate your contract, but I don't think a judge would (in the states, anyway). Maybe an arbitration board would be your best bet.
Wow, there's a lot of conditions on there.
Really? Compared to others I've seen posted on here, I thought it was pretty tame!
If your 'studio' part of a larger retail business (like a music shop)? Then you can throw most of that contract out.{/quote]
It's not.
[quote]A lawyer might appreciate your contract, but I don't think a judge would (in the states, anyway).
Any particular reasons?
Thanks
I don't know if it will stand up in court...you should consult a lawyer for that.
But in general, it comes off way too scary and legalese for me as a consumer.
For example, your parking rules sounds like the parking rules for visitors at the State Prison:
We are allocated one parking space at the front of The Music Grove. This is the space by the wall, furthest away from the premises - none of the remaining spaces are to be used under any circumstances. When available, the student is allowed to park in our allocated space, but only within their allocated lesson time. Under no circumstances will students be permitted to use this parking space at other times. It is expected that the student will make every effort to vacate the space promptly, so as to make it available to the next student who may need it.
How about this instead:
"Each teacher at the Music Grove is allowed only one spot for student parking. My student parking space is the one by the wall, furthest away from the premises. In consideration for other arriving students, please only park there, and also only during your lesson time. Thank you."
That says the same thing, but can you see the difference in tone?
Even if I heard good things about you as a teacher, I would, as a prospective student, run for the nearest exit because of the harsh tone of the document.
I would worry that, were I to take lessons, I might mistakenly slip up on one of the many rules and conditions, and be fined or terminated or flogged.
![[Linked Image]](http://www.runemasterstudios.com/graemlins/images/redflag.gif)
I need to ask if your business is incorporated?
In my own experience with small claims courts here in the states, judges would find this to be more of a nuisance than anything. And they'd be less inclined to get you the full amount of monies owed. I found out that it would be a lot easier if my practice was incorporated or an LLC.
"small annual fee increase"? How much we talking here, and how much time am I given to say no thank you to this increase before Im told I didnt give you enough notice to quit?
Why do you want fee increases for that matter? Are your skills appreciating over time? Anything more than 2-3% to account for inflation would have me looking elsewhere.
Oh, and there are no copyright laws on composers who have been dead for a long time. Why so stiff on that? See IMSLP.com for sheet music for free totally legal.
Oh, and there are no copyright laws on composers who have been dead for a long time. Why so stiff on that? See IMSLP.com for sheet music for free totally legal.
Not true, it's the actual specific publication that is copyrighted, not the conceptual work. Someone could publish their unique version of an existing Bach work today and it would be copyrighted. Take a look at imslp a little closer and you'll see what I'm talking about. This is one of the reasons that imslp had to shut down for a spell to clean up their library.
I don't know if it will stand up in court...you should consult a lawyer for that.
But in general, it comes off way too scary and legalese for me as a consumer.
For example, your parking rules sounds like the parking rules for visitors at the State Prison:
We are allocated one parking space at the front of The Music Grove. This is the space by the wall, furthest away from the premises - none of the remaining spaces are to be used under any circumstances. When available, the student is allowed to park in our allocated space, but only within their allocated lesson time. Under no circumstances will students be permitted to use this parking space at other times. It is expected that the student will make every effort to vacate the space promptly, so as to make it available to the next student who may need it.
How about this instead:
"Each teacher at the Music Grove is allowed only one spot for student parking. My student parking space is the one by the wall, furthest away from the premises. In consideration for other arriving students, please only park there, and also only during your lesson time. Thank you."
That says the same thing, but can you see the difference in tone?
Even if I heard good things about you as a teacher, I would, as a prospective student, run for the nearest exit because of the harsh tone of the document.
I would worry that, were I to take lessons, I might mistakenly slip up on one of the many rules and conditions, and be fined or terminated or flogged.
Consider that the host company (Music Grove) may tow cars that it finds in violation, so this might be out of the hands of the OP entirely. True, if this is the case, then the OP could still tone things down but put the "towing" part to help prevent any unfortunate incidences.
Beyond that though, the one parking space things sucks royally. After all, the next student usually arrives with a small amount of overlap with the previous. Not a big deal I guess if everything is always drop off/pick up vs park and enter, but this could actually be a big problem with folks like us who actually stay for lessons.
Disclaimer: I'm a student and English is my third language.
Harsh? To many conditions?
The tone is official and clear, not harsh, as far as I see it. If you read between the lines the condisions seem completely fair to me as a cutumer. If I had been writing something like that in Sweden it would have sounded somewhat similar. I find it clear and helpful.
I can see some thing that might be the issue that some of the posters react on from a US perspective. One thing is the level of politeness in the agreement. In the US I have a feeling that a lot of "please" and "thank you" are used, and that the text has a more kind of informal way of adressing the reader. But what I'm used to, is that there is a difference between how you phrase things in a contract, compared to how you phrase things in a information folder. The purpose of the information folder is to be welcoming and describe what the studio is like in clear and welcoming way, while on the other hand a contract must be clear and straightforward in order to avoid any misunderstandings. In a contract, it is the content that counts, and the content here does seem pretty reasonable to me.
Additionally, I think the US has a completely different attitude toward cars and parking then we have in large cities in Sweden, and apparently in th UK too.
I wish we could have some more freedom when it comes to parking, but I'm not surprised about the text unfortunately.
To sum up, what to do about this? Ben should probably consider that UK conditions might be special, and check with teachers and parents in the area about what the proper language level should be. I agree with that the contract could be rewritten to be more welcoming, and one of the keys is maybe to give more focus on the positive things that the studio offers. Such as Rocket88's suggestion about parking.
Please note, I do believe there culture difference in this. I would not run away from Ben as teacher. However, please compare with other teachers phrasing.
"small annual fee increase"? How much we talking here, and how much time am I given to say no thank you to this increase before Im told I didnt give you enough notice to quit?
Why do you want fee increases for that matter? Are your skills appreciating over time? Anything more than 2-3% to account for inflation would have me looking elsewhere.
I apologise for interfering again... It is actually very kind to write it this way. Ben does likely mean the inflation percents. And maybe, something more IF it is motivated by increased teaching skills or similar. There should definitly not be a sum in the contract. The student/parent choses if they want another term, so they can always stop if they are not happy about an upcoming increase. I agree it might be kind to give proper notice about an upcoming increase, so that ste student has the option to start looking for other teachers early, but myself, I starting lessons next week again after the summer break, and I don't know yet how much the music school will increase their fees, but expect it to reasonable and feel secure since I know it is coming. (There are no problems if I decide to quit when I find out the exact fee. I don't commit to anything before that.)
I am sorry if my comment is confusing, but I'm just trying to point out that the mentioning of that there will be small increases in the fee, is a polite way to prepare the parents so that they know what to expect. It gives the impressions that Ben's studio is helpful and honest and mentions things like that beforehand.
I notice that you've not stated under what conditions you would cancel lessons. I think this is an important part of the 'contract'.
I include things like persistent lateness, failing to bring materials to lessons on a regular basis and most importantly failure to practice between lessons. I have let several students go in the past for this reason.
It's good to have a section like this in your terms so that students and parents understand not just the financial commitment they are making but also the personal commitment that is required.
I agree that the tone is rather off-putting. Would it scare me away from you as a teacher? Maybe not if my initial interviews with you assured me that you were actually human and a nice guy.
If that were the only thing I found out about you, though, I probably would call some other prospective teachers first who seemed friendlier.
Would it hold up in court? There's really two issues here, which is that ANY contract can keep a team of dedicated lawyers happily entangled for as long as their clients' wallets hold out. That being said, I don't see any red flags that would invalidate your terms, though I hasten to add that I am not a lawyer.
The second issue is whether it would even be in your best interest to pursue a court case to the extent that lawyers and judges would be scrutinizing your contract language. My guess is that sending a scary letter threatening small claims court will be enough to get some people to cough up the money, but it wouldn't be worth the hassle and expense of filing a claim for those who are not easily scared.
As for specifics, I'd delete the #3 clause about fee increases. Since each contract is for a term/calendar year only, there's no need to tell clients what you're going to do in the NEXT contract, and all it will do is make your students nervous about what you mean by "small."
I personally find #9 especially off-putting. I understand your reason for wanting that information, but it comes across as an invasion of privacy. Again, as Basia notes, this may be a cultural issue, as HIPAA (medical privacy regulations) stuff is kind of a hot topic these days for Americans. I'd delete it and just ask ask that informally at an intake lesson. People who don't mind telling you will do so then. People who resent being asked that information probably will not say anything, despite a clause in a contract.
The part in #4 about securing a time slot waffles a bit too much and doesn't seem to have any teeth in it. How do you define "as long as it remains practical"? From whose perspective? There's so much wiggle room there that it doesn't offer firm protection for either side, so I probably would just delete it.
Good luck! It's important to have a good studio policy in writing, I think, but you also don't want to scare students off.
I can see some thing that might be the issue that some of the posters react on from a US perspective.
Actually I didn't catch snap to the fact that the OP wasn't in the US. I think that there are several factors that play into this, not just nationality.
First, this isn't a contract to transfer the contents of your estate, it's for piano lessons. I think a part of the negative sentiment about the phrasing used has more to do with the formality of the service being provided.
As for cars and parking, again, I think the type of area you live in affects your attitudes on parking. If you live in the downtown area of a large city (any large city, almost anywhere), then you are probably used to draconian parking rules. If you live out in the burbs, then having such hardcore rules might seem like overkill. Similar to the concept of paying for parking, downtown folks accept it as a part of life, folks from the burbs think it's a affront to their personal freedom.
Finally, in general I personally did not find the wording all that standoffish. Some things might need clarification (like the annual fee increase), but the tone didn't strike me as being a negative.
Ben,
I would leave out the word "glossary". Just my 2 cents.
I'm only uncomfortable about the learning disability clause. These labels are often eroneous - it is a vague thing, and the circumstances under which they occur are varied and sometimes iffy. Often they happen at schools, which are institutions involving group things, while lessons are one-on-one. A parent may wish that you see their child as s/he is rather than being influenced by those labels and definitions of their child. It may be a valid stance on their part.
I'm uncomfortable about the learning disability clause. These labels are often eroneous - it is a vague thing, and the circumstances under which they occur are varied and sometimes iffy. Often they happen at schools, which are institutions involving group things, while lessons are one-on-one. A parent may wish that you see their child as s/he is rather than being influenced by those labels and definitions of their child. It may be a valid stance.
An alternative might simply be to reword it to something more like:
Please state any particular strengths or weaknesses that you think I should know about your child or any other specific concerns you may have.
In this way any information being disseminated is explicitly based on the parents desire to make it known (and/or their assessment of whether the information is relevant in this context).
Hi Ben,
The parking thing would scare me too! I realize you probably have no control over how the store/center handles parking, but how does that work out? If the student before me parks there, wouldn't I have to sit in the parking lot and wait for them to leave before I could park, making me consistently late to my lessons? Yikes!
I also noticed that you request 7 weeks of notice for students who are leaving... and say that lessons already paid for are not refundable. It sounds like, if there are 10-11 weeks left in the semester and I give my 7 week notice - I would not get refund for the lessons remaining (after those 7 weeks)?
My concerns would be:
- 7 weeks seems long to me, personally. (My current school requires 1 month, so 4 weeks).
- Since some students will prepay for the term, why penalize them if they leave (by not refunding the prepaid lessons after the 7 week notification period)? Assuming they give proper notice? If I were reading this, and wanted to study with you, this would discourage me from prepaying for the term and instead encourage me to pay by the month, since then there would be no money to refund!
Just some more thoughts...
This contract is very 'teacher' centered instead of being student centered. That is, while it is a contract, it could be a lot friendlier. You're not accepting students into Julliard here are you?
Thanks for the feedback so far!
Some points I should clarify:
The Music Grove is a small, two teacher enterprise which my colleague and I run from a rented premises which is attached to a larger residential property near the town centre. There is room to park three vehicles at the front of this property, but the lease contract only allows us to use the one specific space. No matter how many times we tell people, they still occasionally park in the landlord's spaces when he isn't there - this gets his back up, and he complains to us about it. No other music schools in our town have any parking spaces available to students! The fact that we have one is a bonus! There is ample parking within the vicinity if our space isn't available - some of it free, some of it not.
The thing is, some students take ages vacating the space, and some even leave the car there after the lesson and go off to do some shopping - this is taking a liberty and is unfair to the other students. Hence the strong words - I agree though, I could tone it down a bit.
Lesson payment is paid by the term in full at our studio - some people pay us in installments, but these are taken either by post-dated cheques or bank transfers. I'm thinking that a monthly standing order is preferable to these, as it is easier to 'set and forget'.
We have always implemented a 'half-a-term's notice to quit' policy, but it has been difficult to enforce. The net result is that, while most people abide by this, some just ring up at the beginning of the term and cancel on the spot, because little Johnny/Jane hasn't practised through the holiday. The 7 lesson thing is half an average term. By making it legally binding, we make it fairer for those who do abide by the policy.
The annual fee increase is indeed to keep roughly in line with inflation. I figured that the word 'small' would be sufficient not to frighten people - I am loathe to commit to a specific percentage in writing. It will normally be around 3 percent, unless the economy goes batshit crazy... ahem...
I don't intend to make students sign this every year - rather, it should be a one-off at enrollment. We have never officially announced fee increases before, but this last January, we did get one parent giving us a hard time about this, so I figured that by clearly announcing it on the contract, it would give permanent 'notice' of the increase.
The learning disability clause was a last-minute idea that I threw in on a whim. If people think it's going to be offensive, then I guess we can just as easily take it out. However, I have found that parents sometimes forget to inform me that their child is dyslexic, for instance, and I think that this kind of information is important to know when you are teaching someone. I also have an epileptic student who has fitted in my lesson on numerous occasions - she did inform me before it happened for the first time, but I should add that she only did so on about the 3rd lesson. If she had fitted in those lessons before she told me, I would have very likely not have handled the situation as calmly as I did!
In the UK, booking (and therefore committing to) music lessons a term at a time is fairly standard practice. We are not prepared to refund lessons not taken if someone quits before the end of a term - why should we? A brand new student would have an opportunity to test us out in the trial lesson - I don't think it's unreasonable that we expect a commitment to at least a full term if they book up.
Regarding the photocopying - I thought the wording made it clear that it was "photocopies of copyrighted material" that are not acceptable? It does not say that all photocopies are prohibited - that would be shooting ourselves in the foot somewhat, as we mostly use photocopies of our own introductory material for the first year or so! Anyone else think my wording is ambiguous on this?
Ben, I believe you could accomplish all your goals, and get all your points across with a far gentler and people-friendly tone.
That would not only accomplish your goals, but, because the tone would be friendly rather than adversarial, it should work to your advantage when a situation related to the contract arose, because people would not be so oft-put to begin with.
My father used to say, "You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar".
I too think that little things could be altered to make the tone more friendly without changing the meaning.
For example:
For the purpose of this document, the word “student†shall come to mean the person receiving the lessons ...
I don't quite know
why, but if you substitute "means" for "shall come to mean" it sounds less like you're about to drag them into court
right now.
Thanks again for all the feedback
Here is a new draft, taking into account much of what has been suggested.
Below are listed the terms and conditions which are necessary to ensure the smooth running of The Music Grove. Please take the time to read them through carefully, and to ask your teacher to clarify any section where necessary.
This document represents a contract between the student and their teacher, as named below. For the purpose of this document, the word 'student' shall mean the person receiving the lessons, and/or the parent/guardian responsible for that person. A ‘term’ shall mean the sequence of lessons that fall within the time frame as defined in the current term letter.
1.Terms and Holidays
Lessons take place weekly. There are 42 lessons per year, grouped into three terms. The specific number of lessons within each term will vary to fall roughly in line with the local state schools. We do not observe the ‘half-term’ holiday week, and lessons are expected to continue as normal in these weeks. We do not observe Bank Holidays, and lessons are expected to take place as normal on these days.
2. Payment
Payment is due by the first lesson of each ‘term’ and is payable directly to the teacher. Payment shall include the sum total of all lessons that fall within the respective term and shall entitle the student to attend one lesson per week at the agreed time for the duration of the term.
3. Annual Fee Increase
There shall be a small, annual increase in fees to keep roughly in line with inflation. This increase will be implemented from the first lesson in January.
4. Allocated Time Slots
By making payment at the start of each term, the student secures their agreed time slot indefinitely.
The student agrees to attend their lesson at the specific time and day as scheduled for each term. If the student is late for a lesson, the lesson will still end at the scheduled time.
5. Additional Fees
The student agrees to purchase any sheet music that is required for their studies. The use of photocopies of copyrighted material is not acceptable (and is forbidden by law!). When the teacher has purchased music on behalf of the student, remuneration is due within one week.
When a student is entered for an examination by the teacher, remuneration of the examination fee is due within one week of entry.
6. Extra Lessons
When extra lessons are needed, for example before exams or concerts, these shall be chargeable at the current rate. Alternatively, they may taken as being in advance of any remaining lessons within the current term, or in place of any lessons previously missed by the teacher. Payment for additional lessons is due on the day of the lesson.
7. Lessons Missed By Student
Lessons missed by the student will not be made good, nor fees refunded. When sufficient notice (minimum 24 hours) is given of cancellation, the teacher may be able to allocate an alternative time slot that shall fall within the teacher’s normal teaching schedule, should one be available. If a mutually convenient time slot cannot be agreed upon before the end of the current term, that lesson shall be forfeit.
8. Lessons Missed By Teacher
Lessons missed by the teacher will be made good and, if possible, before the end of the current term. If it is not possible to make good these lessons within the current term, they will be credited to the following term.
9. Notice to Quit
Notice to terminate lessons must be provided in writing with prior notice of a minimum seven lessons (half of an average term). The student agrees to pay in full for all remaining lessons within the current term or period of notice, whichever is the longer, regardless of whether they intend to take the lessons or not. If the notice period overlaps with the annual price increase, the amount due will be calculated at the current rate at the time notice is given. No refunds will be given for any remaining lessons already paid for in advance. If payment is made by monthly standing order, the student agrees to continue payments until all lessons that fall within the period of notice have been paid for.
I've tried to retain a formal tone, but with less attitude
I still think it's important that people realise that it is a contract, which is why I'm loathe to make it read like a list of polite requests that they can ignore at their leisure.
I think it might be best to take out the Parking clause, and put it into a separate information leaflet - here is the new text, if you're interested:
Parking
We are allocated one specific parking space out of the three at the front of The Music Grove. This is the space by the wall, furthest away from the premises - none of the remaining spaces are available to either the teachers or students of The Music Grove. When it is available, students are welcome to park in our allocated space, but only within their allocated lesson time. At the end of their lesson, it is requested students make every effort to vacate the space promptly, so as to make it available to the next student who may need it.
This contract is very 'teacher' centered instead of being student centered. That is, while it is a contract, it could be a lot friendlier. You're not accepting students into Julliard here are you? smile
I'm not sure how or why I should change it to be 'student centred'? It clearly states that payment entitles them to a certain number of lessons - to what else should I commit myself in writing? And no, I'm not accepting students into Julliard, but I am nonetheless accepting them into a professional establishment of which I am proud. My colleague and I do not do this as a hobby or for charity - it is our livelihood, and as such we should expect no less respect or commitment from our clients than those of any other educational establishment, no matter how grand. To me, your tone seems to suggest we should just lighten up and let people mess us around, as we're only a couple of 'ordinary' piano teachers?
Ben, reading through your contract something struck me. It's going to be incomprehensible to most people. It looks like it's written by lawyers for lawyers, and designed to stand up in a court of law in the event of a lawsuit (by you) of the client (your student). Secondly, people just don't ready big long things these days.
I rarely teach these days, but I do freelance with people coming in off the street. I find that I have to explain things to them very simply only stressing the essential things (simply). More than once. And even then, they get some of it wrong. Your contract is overwhelmingly huge, complicated, and intimidating. What about having this as fine-print, and the basic points written out simply in few words in the main part? You can use the fine print to back you up in case of dispute or misunderstanding.
I've made some further edits to it, and thus to my recent post as well. I've chopped a few redundant sentences out and re-ordered it to put the scary stuff at the end - as far as I can tell, sections 1-8 now read as clear and informative. Section 9 "Notice To Quit" is deliberately written in a legalese style, as it needs to be, IMO.
I don't agree that it is 'overwhelmingly huge and complicated'. For instance, compared to the one smallpiano posted recently it has less than half the number of clauses!
It's a fine line to walk between being thorough and simple. A policy is intended to be a legal document, as far as I'm concerned, for the protection of everyone involved. While no piece of paper can actually be legal-proof, often having these things spelled out can help clarify things for parents, should they need clarifying. If someone signs a document without reading it first, that is their own mistake.
Ben, your new draft is a huge improvement! I like it. I especially like the words you chose "Lessons missed by student". I think I'll adopt that for my policy.
Go for it, Anne! The first sentence of that clause was blatantly lifted from the policy of one of our competitors, anyway
I don't agree that it is 'overwhelmingly huge and complicated'.
I agree in principle. But never underestimate people's inability to understand. I have a step by step template instructing how to write a cheque, and I've had to *use* it more than once.
I also think your contract is much improved, Ben, and I'm glad to see the paragraph about medical conditions taken out.
As it stands alone, the document does come across as rather legalistic and formidable. However, I'm assuming that students are given the contract in the context of a personal interview, where you can convince them of your friendliness and approachability through conversation.
The whole thing reminds me of the very long consent forms the govt. requires us to use when conducting research with human participants. The longer and more complicated the form is, the less the likely the subject is to read the danged thing before signing it. So an important part of the informed consent process is for researchers to go over, verbally, the crucial points to make sure potential participants understand what they're signing up for. I imagine that Ben does much the same thing in his initial interviews. The long form is intended mainly to be an official backup to policies made clear in a friendly conversation.
Question from someone who doesn't look at this section of the site very often and doesn't know about these things, and I imagine this is 'old hat' to most of you:
Does the benefit of having any kind of "contract" really outweigh the possibility of turning people off and making them look elsewhere? I would think it would not; to me, the mere thing seems like an extreme turn-off. But I realize that I just don't know, and that I'm biased by having grown up and taken lessons at a time when there wasn't any such thing.
Extending what Monica said (but I realize that she wasn't saying anything exactly like this) and along the lines of Keystring's post, I would think that if you need to have something in writing, it should be brief and very simple, and it should look like regular plain English.
Well, the very first paragraph says 'ask your teacher to clarify any section where necessary'
Plus, it's not like we'll be forcing them to read and sign it in solemn silence - I plan to hand it to them personally, with the specific instruction to read it and sign it there and then, with the offer to explain anything they don't understand.
I don't think there's any point in idiot-proofing it any more than I already have - you have to draw a line when it comes to simplifying text, otherwise you end up reducing it to nothing. My philosophy on this is: if they are too stupid to understand the meaning of this sentence I've painstakingly written in plain English, then they will likely struggle to read it in the first place...
Question from someone who doesn't look at this section of the site very often and doesn't know about these things, and I imagine this is 'old hat' to most of you:
Does the benefit of having any kind of "contract" really outweigh the possibility of turning people off and making them look elsewhere? I would think it would not; to me, the mere thing seems like an extreme turn-off. But I realize that I just don't know, and that I'm biased by having grown up and taken lessons at a time when there wasn't any such thing.
Well, to put it in context: I just showed it to some friends of mine who have young children, and they thought it was fine. The comment was "looks just like the kind of thing I had to sign for the kids' swimming lessons".
.....I just showed it to some friends of mine who have young children, and they thought it was fine. The comment was "looks just like the kind of thing I had to sign for the kids' swimming lessons".
Thanks for the quick reply, and please see my edit -- I added a little.
Also, let me say that one person's reaction doesn't really answer the possible concern -- and swimming lessons could be a bit different because of the physical danger, which I would imagine is one of the main reasons they have a document.
This kind of thing is standard for a lot of children's activities, Mark, so I think parents are used to it. Adult students might be a little more turned off by the legalistic prose, but again I think it is a matter of presentation. A friendly initial conversation that is then followed up with, "Here's a handout that lists all the policies we've just talked about. If you want to enroll for lessons, I'll need you to sign it, and I'll give you a copy to keep for your records," will be much less off-putting than starting off with the document as the initial approach.
This kind of thing is standard for a lot of children's activities, Mark, so I think parents are used to it......
Thanks to you too for the quick reply. As per my above post, are you sure those things aren't usually with regard to activities that are potentially hazardous? If so, it could be a totally different thing. If not, then what you said really does answer it.
Ben, what problems have you had that influenced the creation, and the general tone, of this contract?
Well, in today's litigious society, you could argue that ANYTHING is potentially hazardous.
But, no, I've had to sign such agreements for children's theater, soccer, karate lessons, arts camps, etc.... any kind of activity involving a time commitment and multiple payments.
I've read enough threads here in the teacher's forum to realize that, because of a few bad apples, teachers need to protect themselves from deadbeats. Having a signed policy is often enough to convince such a deadbeat to pay up. Not always, of course, but it's better than not having any kind of protection at all.
It's too bad we don't live in world where we can count on people always to do the right thing on a handshake basis, but we don't.
.....I've read enough threads here in the teacher's forum to realize that, because of a few bad apples, teachers need to protect themselves from deadbeats....
It's too bad we don't live in world where we can count on people always to do the right thing on a handshake basis, but we don't.
Thanks again -- that's pretty thorough.
I guess it's also that lessons aren't like $3 any more.
When it was $3, there was less of an issue. But then again, back then $3 was real money.
I think if I were a piano teacher, I would still try initially to do it without anything in writing, or at most something extremely brief and simple (like 2 or 3 sentences) -- and try hard to make that work. I realize it might not.
I handle my current work exactly that way -- nothing in writing. I figure that whatever I lose, I make up from the other considerations, and I'm not planning on taking anyone to court anyway.
Ben, you asked for feedback, and it is up to you to decide which you find valid and which you don't. Mine was based on certain observations but you'll be the best to judge whether it applies to the kinds of families you deal with.
I handle my current work exactly that way -- nothing in writing. I figure that whatever I lose, I make up from the other considerations, and I'm not planning on taking anyone to court anyway.
This is a good point. If a teacher wouldn't be willing to pursue a claim in small claims court, one could argue that the opportunity cost in families who decide to look elsewhere because they don't like the official legalistic language of the contract is worse than the compliance you'd gain from the timid deadbeats the policy would scare into paying up. (The fearless deadbeats aren't going to pay up no matter what.)
The only way Ben will know this is to try it out. For the first few months, I'd recommend following up on any studio inquiries that don't pan out and ask a few short questions about why the family decided not to enroll, and see if anybody mentions the policy explicitly as a detractor.
As a parent I have no problems with the wording or tone of the contract in general. Now, it may be handy to have a "welcome to the studio" sheet to go along with this with items that might be useful (vs contractual) such as good practice habits/suggestions, suggestions on instruments, etc that can be worded in a more "friendly and inviting" way. While keystring is right and one should never underestimate the ability of people to misunderstand, this is true no matter how "simplified" you try to make things so I don't know that it's really worth the effort to go that route if that isn't where one already started down or if one feels more comfortable with a more formal approach.
@rocket88 - specifically the situation I mentioned earlier in the thread, where people ring up to cancel permanently *on the day* (or worse, don't even bother ringing - they just don't turn up) of their first lesson after the holidays (i.e. the one to which they should be bringing payment), because their kid hasn't practised for a few weeks, and doesn't want to come any more because, well... they haven't practised for a few weeks.
Everyone is informed of the half-a-term notice policy, and most stick to it, but the ones who do the above *never* pay the fee for the notice period. This is unfair to the teacher and to everyone else who abides by the policy. So by putting it in a contract, it makes it less likely that they'll think they can get away with it. I seriously doubt proceedings would ever get further than a warning letter threatening action via a small claims court, but at least the contract would give me the leverage to send the warning letter.
The other reasons for the contract are to try and bring across the message that learning music is a relatively serious commitment, and also to make it easier for us as teachers to enforce the lesson cancellation policy, as it can be very difficult with some clients who deliberately lay on the guilt to get you to give them catch-ups for lessons they cancel for pathetic reasons, and often at the last minute. Once you give in to them, it becomes increasingly difficult to enforce the policy and, again, it's very unfair on the other clients who don't behave like this.
I think you'll find that it is not just the safety aspects of swimming, karate, etc that prompt the necessity of student contracts, either - rather, it is a necessary evil for anything which requires commitment to a course of lessons.
I notice that nearly all of the responses to this have been regarding the overall 'tone' of the contract. Now, I think that the latest draught comes across as very neutral for the most part, with the "Lessons Missed By Student" and "Notice To Quit" clauses being the only 'scary' ones. I've had hardly any suggestions that the clauses in themselves are 'unreasonable'.
@keystring: I'm sorry if my reply came across as dismissive of your feedback, for which I am grateful. It's not that I disagree with what you are saying, but rather that I'm not prepared to pander to the illiterate - I've written a few instruction manuals for synthesizers in the past as well, and I have often found myself arguing a similar point with the manufacturers over something which they have found to be maybe not as simplistic as they'd like: that is, that if by a certain point someone still doesn't get the meaning, then you're dealing with someone who probably couldn't even figure out which way round to sit on a dining room chair, let alone read or understand the menu