This week has been an interesting week. Up until now, I have had only the occasional student that didn’t practice due to sickness or vacation, etc. I have a student, however, who we’ll call Tammy, who hasn’t practiced at all. I’m talking about since she came in October, she has consistently not practiced. Tammy is in 6th grade, so she knows what is right and wrong. She came to me from another piano teacher, whom I don’t know, and said she was in level 1 or 2. I DON’T think so. She can’t tell me what the notes are, she can’t tell whether they are going up or down, and she constantly asks me if she is supposed to play with both hands. (If you see notes in the Treble Clef, your right hand plays, and if you see notes in the Bass Clef, your left hand plays.)

So she comes on Tuesday. Of course, the first thing she says to me is, “I practiced, but we were really busy this week, but I did practice.”

After hearing the first song, I’m skeptical.

I look at her practice log and she has 5 days of practice in (supposedly).

So I torture myself listening to another song that she can’t play and finally I say, “Tammy, it would be a lot easier for Mrs. Rohr to know where to start if you tell her right away that you didn’t practice. You know I’m not going to yell and scream at you.  I may be disappointed, but that’s the way it is.  If you told me right away that you didn’t practice, then we wouldn’t have to sit here and listen to songs that you don’t know.”

“But I did practice.”

“Well,” I say kindly, “I’m wondering how you don’t know this song at ALL if you practiced for five days. That usually doesn’t happen. Mrs. Rohr can tell if you haven’t practiced. Did you have a chance to do any songs?”

She looks at the practice log and gets an “ah-ha!”expression and says, “Oh…… I filled in the practice sheet by accident. I thought I was practicing this weeks songs, but I actually practiced last weeks songs.”

Yeah. Right. How could you not know what your lesson is when I write it on the practice sheet AND in her notebook, with the date?

So we struggle through the lesson.

At the end, I decide to speak up.

“Tammy, I know that you are a Christian, and you know that I am too. I want to follow what God tells me to do, and honestly, I’m having a hard time having your mom pay me for your piano lessons and you not learning anything because you don’t do what you are supposed to. I just don’t feel right taking her money if you can’t do what you need to do to become a good piano player. I’m going to make you a deal.”

She looks at me, and I forge ahead, “If you come to me next time, I expect you to have practiced and not to lie about how many times you practiced. If you can’t do that, I think we will have to talk to your mom, because I just can’t continue to get paid by her when you aren’t learning what you need to learn. So that is the deal. If you practice, and show me that you practiced, then great, otherwise, we will have a chat with your mom. Do you understand?”

She nods. I pat her shoulder. I was kind and nice, but man, I had to lay it out.

“So, come next time having your practicing done, Okay?”

She agrees and that is the end of it.

I know I was probably too easy on her, but I also didn’t want to make the kid cry. When you are one-on-one with a child, just you and them, it is pretty easy to make them cry. So I was kind, but firm. I gave her the benefit of the doubt, but I knew she was lying. I don’t get how you expect to get away with telling your teacher that you practiced when you haven’t. It’s not like you can play the songs–that is why you PRACTICE them, so you can get better at them.

Duh.

Well, she has a whole two weeks to practice before she comes back to me. I wonder what she will come up with?