While I am so very thankful all but one of my students is continuing with lessons during this stressful time, I am finding teaching via Facetime or Google Hangout to be so much more tiring that having students here in my studio. I have put breaks between each student (from 5 minutes to my preferred 15) just so I can breathe, walk a bit, and get books ready for the next student. Even with that break I am utterly exhausted after only three students. I don’t know how colleagues who do this all day deal with it. They sure have my admiration!
If I could, I would charge more for online lessons, due to how grueling they are. But of course I won’t: my students have stuck with me and I can’t punish them by making the fee higher, despite it being more work for me. (And I’ve lost thousands due to symphony and opera being over for now.)
So it goes … and I’m hoping I’ll adjust and things will get easier as time goes by, because I think we are going to be doing this much longer than we all hope.
Most of my students are not taking online lessons…not sure what it says about them….or me…
Did you encourage them to, Dane? The majority of mine signed up immediately. Two waited but when they realized it was going to be longer than 2 weeks (honestly, some thought we’d be back to normal in 2 weeks!) they signed up as well. You might write and encourage them to do so … if you want to teach the lessons, that is!
Yes, I let them know that I am teaching with Zoom, but only a couple takers by the more commited who are working on youth symphony audition materials. Kind of disappointing really…
That IS disappointing! I’m sorry. Maybe they’ll sign on soon, when they realize how long this is going on?