Something that I didn't think about a whole lot before I started teaching as my primary job is that there is a lot of admin that goes into running a studio/being a teacher. It's not just about the time you spend teaching. For our purposes, I will define admin as any work you do that is not during the actual lesson. So what kind of admin does a piano teacher have?
1) Scheduling. Planning what times I will teach. Communicating with families to set their schedule. Confirming any schedule changes.
2) Communicating with families. Responding to messages. Answering questions from prospective students. Explaining/clarifying things for students. Addressing issues with parents. Letting families know about recitals, etc.
3) Lesson plans. Because lessons are individualized, I have to make a plan for every student every week. Yes, I have basic structures that apply to all students, but I have to keep in mind what each student does well and struggles with, what skills we need to work on, and how that student will best respond. I also have to have a back up plan in case they are not fully prepared or things go really well and we have extra time.
4) Online presence. Facebook, blog posts, etc.
5) Marketing. Letting people know what I do and how they can participate.
6) Platform maintenance. Updating course descriptions and schedules.
7) Finding music for students. Whether it's something they have requested or just needing more options, I'm always on the lookout for new pieces.
8) Learning music for students. Again, it may be a song they requested. It may be approaching a song I already know through the eyes of a particular student and figuring out how to help that student understand it.
9) Practicing in general. The more I work on music on my own, the better I teach. I have to keep working and learning to be able to help my students the best.
Those are just 9 admin tasks and categories that come to mind. There is a lot more than just teaching that piano teachers do so that lesson time is as effective as possible.
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