Hear thee, hear thee

Students come and go, business rises and falls. All part of life and making a living. These days the dust in switching careers is beginning to settle. Sometimes having a more stable routine is good, but the freedom to be flexible is even better. Free will is such a wonderful gift.

Yes!

Got a new student starting next week! :-)

The Business of Teaching

Now I understand why people say teaching doesn't pay. Come summer, and students take off for one/two months.

Nonetheless, the process and joy experienced in training a child to become an independent, motivated pianist who simply enjoys his/her learning is quite something to relish. For the first time today I had an 8 year old girl tell me "finished already?? -- Today's lesson seemed so short..."

Children can be real brats at times, but it is the small things they do that make you smile. One of my students on summer vacation now is a bossy little 5 year old girl, but about a month back, she decided that "Teacher Millie" is quite alright, and gave me a big fat hug at the end of the lesson. :-)

So well, despite the lack of dough, I will persevere. After all, what is needed is just to FIND MORE STUDENTS!!!

Lost 3

Down to 7. :-(
Adults have been shown to demonstrate less commitment than children.

Breaking a Ten

It's exactly 2 months since finding 10 students. Then because of my vacation back in April I've been sitting on making further efforts to recruit more students. Inertia is not a good permanent place to be, so I've resolved to do something about it after this weekend. Enjoying it while it lasts. :-)

No Pay Leave

Working freelance has a downside. No work, no pay.
So I discovered after taking a week-long vacation to the Philippines, and falling sick after getting back. After spending money during vacation, it was no fun battling illness today to earn some dough back. If my current chest congestion doesn't go away after tonight's rest I might go see a doctor tomorrow, which means spending more money, and probably earning less (if I don't feel well enough to make it for lessons).
The old adage that every job has its pros and cons rings true...

A Whole 10

Yes I know, it's been awhile since I posted anything. I've been really busy transiting, to be honest, just getting used to a new routine and schedule. Lots more running around, but all good and interesting.
I now have 10 students. It's almost impossible to keep track of everyone of them nowadays. I have to diligently refer to their notebooks each time we have a lesson to remind myself what we did the previous week. Lots of interesting experiences really, but will share them more when I've had time to consolidate my thoughts and see some sort of pattern beyond 'do re mi'.