A new student

[xxhottie88xx]

I have a teenage girl student who have lived 6 years with her parents in Dubai and recently just moved back to the country. She has complained to me about her getting bullied at school from boys in the upper year... Should I tell the girl instead of telling me her stories of getting bullied at school, focus on the lesson, if not she's a bad student? or should I give her moral support as it is part of the responsibility of a piano teacher? Also, should I tell her parents about the situation?

[chopinlover01]

While it's not your job as a piano teacher to provide moral support, I'd say it's an obligation as a decent human to at least hear them out a bit, if they're being cool headed about it.
Definitely tell the parents.

[amytsuda]

Considering all the serious teenage bullying problems nowadays...
1) Tell the girl that you will let parents know
2) Tell parents ASAP your heard that the girl seems bullied and struggling
3) Tell the girl to go to talk to her school counselors ASAP
4) Tell the girl that you are not a counselor but a piano teacher, so you can't really help her on those issues. You hope mastering piano will help her feel better about the situation, and you can only help her achieve such. 

[dcstudio]

Considering all the serious teenage bullying problems nowadays...
1) Tell the girl that you will let parents know
2) Tell parents ASAP your heard that the girl seems bullied and struggling
3) Tell the girl to go to talk to her school counselors ASAP
4) Tell the girl that you are not a counselor but a piano teacher, so you can't really help her on those issues. You hope mastering piano will help her feel better about the situation, and you can only help her achieve such. 

Well said...  it's your responsibility to tell the parents.

Now that this has been said---she also may just be stalling her lesson...lol  I have seen some experts at this...I was one, too in my day.  I don't mean to suggest that she's lying at all--in fact it is most likely true--but she also may be using it to distract from the fact that she's unprepared this week.  The more dramatic--the better chance she has at keeping you from asking her to play... I did it all the time...lol and it always worked.

i know you are not a counselor--but when you see these kids each week for years it's hard not to form a bond with them.   I still hear from students who I stopped teaching 10 years ago and are now married with kids...  they still consider me one of the family.  Some teachers have that distanced removed approach--and it has it's advantages... I was just too big of a softie to do that.