Yesterday I noticed how much "tsk-tsking" an otherwise silent mom was doing. She's not a butt-in-ski, but every time she did that, her son looked over at her. Very distracting.

Remember the crier that I asked you guys for help with??
Well, she had her first mom-free lesson yesterday (mom walked her in and handed me the books: whatever, one step at a time, right?!) and she did fantastic! I send mom an email later that night and told her how focused her daughters were and that we had a lot of fun. It was sad to me when mom replied "that's good, they were scared". I have had these girls 2 years, why would they be scared other than never being without mom??

I am going to tell all parents that they are invited to observe "once a month" if they wish. I really believe that it can be beneficial to have parents there now and again, but it seems to be more distracting than not lately.

Congratulations !!!

Well done !!! very proud of your New and Improved Policy.

See you DO know best and the children are probably quite relieved too.

That is a great idea. Even if the kids are "Scared" at first, it is just because it is something new. Change is scary, even if it is for the better. I had a boy in 3rd grade who was just like that when he began. Mom had to sit right there, and he'd get upset if she left to go run errands or something. Now, a year later, he's OK with mom or dad leaving during the lesson and he's a lot more confident too. It just depends on the emotional maturity/security of the student. Mom "tsk-ing" is cause for concern, though, because she may be doing that at home as well. I would have a talk with her (while the child is not listening, perhaps over the phone) about only being encouraging and when the child makes mistakes to not say or do anything. This will go a long way to help the child feel free to make mistakes. That is key to improving!

I'm glad it worked out!

Your new policy statement sounds fine, but I would hesitate to use it myself because I have some very dedicated parents who sit in the adjacent room and listen and it really helps the student.

I usually like the parents to be involved, but I seem to have more than my share of "helicopter" parents/nannies/grandparents this year.

I am shopping for a smallish chair that I am going to place in my entryway along with a small table and welcome them to sit there. That way I can still speak with them at lesson time, but they're out of earshot and line of vision.

Also I started thinking that if I sent them away, I could be opening a new can of worms with them not coming back on time to pick them up.

I think having a waiting area is a great idea. I have one that is separated from the studio area by a movable room divider (they're actually two walls on casters with glass blocks halfway up to let in light). The parents sit on couches in the waiting area and can hear everything, but they are out of sight so as to not distract. Most of the parents leave anyways since I'm right next to a mall and shopping district, and many that stay have something else to do. Last week I heard snoring! LOL!

I think that's a smart idea E&I.

My piano teaching space is mostly an entryway, a room where the piano is and a formal dining room, where the computer lab machine is. This is all really one big space, so if the parents sit in the dining room area, they can see the piano but the student can't see them and when they are there, they rarely try to talk or interject into the lesson.

You might indeed be opening a can 'o worms if you don't allow a parent to watch what is going on. (in the name of safety and all).

Morodiene, I had a parent doze off yesterday myself! No snoring, but it was pretty funny

Another blasted double post...sorry.