Should I Retake some previous students?

[canardroti]

I would like to get some help and some advice thank you.

When I first started teaching I had little idea of what I was doing, I didn't setup any policies and basically I wasn't strict enough and therefore the little kids and the parents were not serious either about it. Always on and off about lessons, no practicing, etc..
I have stopped teaching for 5 months, building myself a rule of policy and basically being more serious about it and expecting results, no last minute lesson cancellation, practicing logs from my students and even offering them a chance to have a recital.
Now some of my previous students want me back, but I am not sure how to do this or tell the parents of the kids about my new policy..How should I approach this? Those students did not practice and were hard to deal with, so I am kind of reluctant to take them back..but I could use the extra money. Anyone with this experience? How likely is it for these students to become more serious now? they're about 6-9 years old.
Thanks!

[lostinidlewonder]

You tell them you are teaching a lot more student and your time is limited. Mention to them that you would like to give them lessons but they will have to be weekly lessons during school terms (most young students will not have lessons during their holiday times).

When I have free space I allow students who need to change times another day in the week, but when my timetable is full I tell them that the time they choose must be the same every week. I will generally not change the timetable around to accomadate for one student  because that means often I have to shift around more than 1 student to fit them in which is an inconvenience for all involved!

Also avoid allowing students to pay you weekly, get them to pay every month or term even. At the music school I am teaching at students pay by the term (usually around 10 lessons). If they miss the lesson too bad. Students must realize that they are not only paying for teaching, but more importantly paying to reserve the teachers time for themselves. If they use that time or not, that is their decision, of course not everyone can keep the time every single time, people get sick, have family events etc, but these things can be forseen and discussed. If there is no discussion and the student simply calls you on the day to cancel with no good reason, or that they forgot to tell you something etc you can be comfrotable to say that that missed lesson will be charged for. If a particular student keeps telling you the same excuse then you can really consider not teaching them. You are running a business you are not a servant.

You must make students realize that your time is limited, precious and devoted to many people not only 1 person. They have to respect the time that you have allocated them, they must be very communicative with you if they have to change times or if events are coming up in the future that may cause you to miss lessons with them. Over the years of teaching I would say 99% of students respect this and let me know soon enough if they cannot make lessons. When I could make different times I would do so, if honestly I could not make a new time for them and the reason for the student to miss the lesson was a valid one, I may allow the student to do so without charge. However students could be expected to miss 1 lesson out of 10, that would be acceptable I guess, if it is more than this you have to really question if it is worth it for your business to invest in people who do not take your time seriously.

As with practicing, the teacher should teach the student how to practice. Methods to practice, ways to look at their music etc. If they are armed with the correct tools then they should work well when they do practice. However, it is NOT a teachers responsibility to ensure that a student actually practices. With young children you should encourage them to practice on their own and when they don't, mention that you can see in their playing that they have no practice, reward them when they have practiced and highlight to them how you notice that they have done so.