Social networks and your studio

Joining social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook seems like a great way to keep in touch with your students-especially now that everyone is online. But there's a professional line that is easily ignored if you don't separate your personal life from your business one. How can you connect on a virtual level and stay professional?

Social networking can be an easy method of outputting information, whether it's about your upcoming recital or suggestions for a new place to buy strings. You can remind little Jenny on her Facebook page to bring in her pencil next week instead of pen and can nudge Sally's mom on Twitter about the changed lesson time for Friday. Parents and clients can see a little more into your interests and personality than you may normally show in a professional setting, and you can find some insight into their lives in the same way. 

 

The dangers of networking sites are "tmi"-too much information. Logging onto Facebook right now, some of the topics in the status updates are: Reisling, sparkly booty shorts, the Vikings, Eagles, and Saints, snow, dirty laundry, hating work, Hanukkah, going out to bars. These are topics your students or parents can read about if you become their friend on facebook. From your political views to your favorite alcohol to the picture of you acting like your favorite animal, you're leaving a lot more information out there than you would maybe reveal in conversation with a student or their parents. Do you want to give your students and clients reasons not to choose you based on anything but your experience and personality? Leaving a virtual trail can lead to questions and judgments that you as a teacher shouldn't have to address-so don't make it available. 

Besides the parents judging your opinions and beliefs, you need to command your students' respect and trust in order to be good teachers to them through the years. While it may benefit you to see what they're thinking and are interested in online that you may not know about otherwise, you have to remember that it goes both ways.  As much as you may not have asked for it, you are a role model for your students, and if your 13-year-old student sees or reads about you acting in a way she/he was taught was innappropriate, it may impair your relationship in the studio.

I've known teachers in the past who have communicated with their students through Facebook to set up lesson times and cancellations. If that really works best for you, that's your choice. But if you're keeping track of your schedule, lessons missed/made, and makeup policies, email or on paper is a better place to store that information. Another reason not to organize life on Facebook or Twitter is that the parent is not forced to be involved-something that I prefer to maintain until their child is 18 and heading to college.

Mom-proofing everything you touch on the screen is a great way to keep yourself private. When my mother joined Facebook, the first thing I did was send my sister an SOS message. Then I purged my page, deleting pictures and information. Since then, I've also removed my political and religious views, deleted wall posts that others may have written to me, and taken off a lot of personal contact information. There are also specific privacy settings you can set that controls how much a person can see. 

If you really want to use these networks for business purposes, then you have to be strict with what you post and whose friendships you accept. Postings should be about lesson cancellations, upcoming concerts or gigs, or tips for changing pedal felts; not about what you had for dinner or how annoying Jill was at lesson today because she wouldn't stop kicking her feet. If you don't want to have a professional page, then keep your personal page personal-don't accept or make friendships with your students, their parents, wedding clients, etc. I sometimes hesitate to accept friendships of other harpists as well. If you want the best of both worlds, open two accounts, and keep them very strictly apart. 

Remember that no one can tell if you don't accept their friendship-and in the grander scheme of things, not being friends on Facebook or blocking someone on Twitter will not ruin your relationships with anyone.

Some networking sites to be aware of:

• MySpace 
• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Gmail
• aim/messenger
• bebo
• dating sites (match.com, eHarmony, okcupid)
• Live Journal/Xanga
• flickr

Studio games we play.

This year, I've been trying to ween my students off the sticker reward system, or at least not use so many stickers in the process. Not only would I like to save some of my dollars spent on new stickers each occasion, but I don't want my students to develop the habit of learning and listening for a present rather than for their own pleasure and rewards. That said, a reward can go a long way in coaxing a student into playing or listening just a little bit longer. At some point, though, the novelty will wear off, and you as a teacher will just have to get bigger and better each time, until you have little or no control over your students.

Since school started in the fall, my studio has started replacing sticker rewards with song rewards. If you listen well and work hard, there's a good chance you'll get to take a break with a favorite song of your choice. Or we could play the song we're already working on in a silly way-one favorite is threading the strings with paper to make a funky banjo sound. Sometimes we play duets together as a treat, or others we get up and walk around and work on theory. Or we play a duet every week, but we work on a different game each time: chasing each other's tempos, exaggerating dynamics, or adding in our own sound effects to the piece.

Breaks from the monotony of the same recital piece, day after day and week after week, are a great way to both reward your students and still teach them. It's a way for your student to have fun, and not think about how they're being made to play the harp, made to practice, asked to repeat themselves over and over, or constantly corrected. It also gives your student a chance to trust you and see you as more of a mentor or a coach than a strict teacher. Some teachers don't want to blur that line, however I feel more comfortable knowing that my students not only have fun at my lessons, but know they can talk to me when they're worried about something-personally or musically.

If you don't want to spend that much time with rewards and breaks, try just a small change of pace. If your student has been hitting the same piece over and over, take a minute to stand up with them, and shake your sillies out. Rotate your arms and jump up and down. Not only does it get you moving after all those lessons, but the student will think it's fun, and will temporarily forget the frustrating piece they can't get right. Chances are, they'll sit back down at the harp with better posture, will remember to keep their feet flat, and won't need any elbow reminders from you.