January 3, 2026: Saturday Remix
Teachers and Staff: Happy Saturday!
Welcome back! Lessons are ON starting today (Saturday, 1/3/26). We also are hosting / have hosted a Forum today, and a Music Playdate in the Park! I hope everyone has had a joyful and restful holiday season, and is ready to start teaching.
Resolutions & Commitments
January is a time of making resolutions, commitments, and setting goals. As teachers, and as employees of our music school, each one of you makes many resolutions, and commitments, and sets many goals for yourselves and for your students.
From time to time (as most of you know), I send little reminders about some of the commitments you make to our studio. Here are a few that have special importance to me:
Resolve to read everything that I/we send to you!
Resolve to respond promptly to communication from us.
Resolve to tidy up your lesson room and follow the Exit Checklist every time you finish a lesson and leave a lesson room.
Resolve to update your timesheet at the end of your shift before you leave the studio.
Resolve to complete your Teacher Notes right after an Introductory Lesson, before you leave the studio.
Resolve to make the music lessons you teach your top priority gig.
Resolve to be kind to everyone, especially students, parents, and colleagues.
Talking to Parents about Their Children (Students)
According to our music studio philosophy, there is one word you should communicate consistently to a parent about their child (your student). That word is joy.
“It is a joy teaching your child.”
“It was a joy watching your child perform.”
“It has been a joy helping your child prepare for their exam (or audition).”
This includes after lessons. Our general rule recommends that we do not seek out parents to offer “feedback” about their child’s lesson, or to give assignments to parents, (or to students in front of their parents), or to make suggestions on how their child might improve, or even to mention positive or fruitful things their child accomplished or did well in their lesson.
Of course, we want to be kind, and perhaps a little bit social, with parents. But, just some smiles and small talk for a few moments will do! “Can’t wait for the upcoming recital! It will be such a joyful and rewarding experience!”
Most students are very capable of leaving the lesson room and finding their parents with minimal assistance from their teacher – you do not need to walk them out and hand them off to parents. Very young children may be an exception, of course, but assisting children to find their parents should not include a mini parent-teacher conference. Even if parents ask how things went, your answer should always be:
“It was a joy to teach your child today. I am so blessed! Have a wonderful rest of the day and I will see you next week!”
There are several reasons why we want to do this. The most important reason is that in our music studio we strive to eliminate all judgment, all guilt, all shaming, and all anxiety and discomfort. When teachers speak to parents after lessons, especially in front of the student, the result is almost always a negative or uncomfortable feeling for the student.
Even positive statements reflect judgment, and suggest that negative statements will come along, too, eventually.
If you have been trained to believe or are accustomed to believing that parents should be “involved” in their child’s learning, which means you feel some responsibility to give the parents assignments and feedback (judgments) for or about their children, at our music studio, you must set aside this belief and practice.
Stop doing it.
This policy goes hand-in-hand with our policy of never asking students if they practiced.
More will be said on this topic in upcoming Saturday Remixes, Tuesday Upbeats, faculty meetings, and other contexts.
For now, remember the word, “joy,” and you cannot go wrong.
“It is a joy having your child in choir.”
“It has been a joy having your child participate in Forum today.”
“It is a joy teaching piano to your child. Have a wonderful rest of your day, enjoy the recital, and I will see you after the break!”
Q: What if the parent asks me how the student did in their lesson?
A: This might sound crazy at first, but the basic way to answer this question is:
“It was such a joy teaching your child today! I can’t wait to see her again next week! Have a wonderful rest of the day!”
Keep your eyes out for more on this topic!
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Thank you, everyone, for all that you do!
Have a magical Saturday, a musical weekend, and a safe and healthy coming week. Happy New Year!
Thank you,
Dennis Frayne
"Dr. Dennis"
Laguna Niguel School of Music
Dennis Frayne Music Studios
30110 Crown Valley Pkwy, Suites 105/107/108
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 844-9051 (office cell)
(949) 468-8040 (personal cell)
www.lagunaniguelschoolofmusic.com
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