Quote:
Originally Posted by tomg123
Too be honest, if a teacher isn't willing to spend more then a rigid 30 minutes i would forget them. Most teachers i ask say they often go over the half hour
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From the other side of the fence, it is important to establish boundaries for the teacher as well. If I have several students in a day I try and stay on time, but if someone doesn't show then I am happy to give more time to someone if they need it. However, some people seem to epxect that they will stay for as long as they want. I have just taken on someone who is at the end of my Monday night schedule, and he seems to think he will stay until he is ready to leave. The first time he came over we went for an hour, which I didn't mind as I was learning a lot about him and where he as at as a player, etc. But the problem is he now expects he will stay for as long as he wants. After 45 minutes the other night I wrapped up, and he pulled out a book he wanted to start on, and his initial question from that book was going to take at least 10-15 minutes to explain the theory behind it to him. He was then annoyed when I said no, we can start with that question next lesson.
It goes beyond time constraints too. The number of people who asked to take home my guitars, CDs, my amp, effects etc in the past was ridiculous. I lost so many books and DVDs/videos from lending them to students. I now establish such boundaries very early on, and I aim to be polite and courteous at all times, but I keep some distance from most of my students. The moment they see me as one of their mates to hang out with tends to mean they will respond differently ie turn up when they want, try and borrow things, cancel at the last minute because a better offer came up.