HHTV 4: Points and Policies

100 Points to Gryffindor!

This week I turned my discount lessons into a point system as I discussed last week. Rather than directly volunteering for money, I changed my policies so that students earn points in a variety of ways and then can use the points for different things.

There are 5 ways to earn points:

1. Volunteer

2. Attend a performance with violin in it

3. Giving lessons to another person

4. Tutoring another person on violin

5. Performing violin to an audience or judge

Points can be used on 6 things:

1. Top-quality rosin

2. A music stand

3. A 20% discount for 4 lessons

4. 1 free violin lesson

5. A 40% discount for 4 lessons

6. Or 2 free violin lessons

Getting a Reward vs. Making Something Cheaper

Then I wrote the policies. I had to make sure that it’s very difficult to lie or fake the activity so I made a lot of the items require that an adult be present. I was able to figure out how many points each activity was worth by using my previous volunteer policy and translating money into points… and then back into money again. Also rather than reducing the price as if a student is working to make what they’re already doing cheaper, I worded it so that they earn a free lesson or earn a discount so that it’s like they’re getting a reward and not making the reward less expensive. I will definitely be adding to my list of prizes in the future as I discover other prizes to give.

(Click Here for PDF of the Actual Points Information)

More of What I Did

I hope this opens up lesson opportunities for people who can’t afford lessons but otherwise spend a lot of time volunteering or learning about music. While I didn’t accomplish as much as I’d like, I am pleased at the new change in my policies. In creating the policies I really had to think about what some valuable experiences would be to a violin student that they don’t normally do. I also wrote reflection sheets for each activity. In the reflection sheet for teaching violin I asked questions such as “Was your lesson successful and did your student play violin better at the end of the lesson?” and “In what ways have you become better at violin because of teaching another person to play violin?”.

I Just KNOW It!

These questions made me think about the way I teach and how it’s important to always ask myself and reflect upon the lesson I just taught. Last week I taught a particularly successful lesson and at the end of it I saw a colleague of mine and just exclaimed “I LOVE being a music teacher!” and it’s times like those that I just know, know, KNOW in my heart that this is the right path for me.

My Hopes and Next Week

I hope that other teachers see my idea and it catches on. I hope that students see the idea and appreciate the opportunity. I hope that the policies don’t create lengthy debates with parents about how much money and what kind of activity their child did. I hope the policies are clearly worded and thorough so as to avoid that. I hope to gain a following for my website since I put a lot of time into updating it. For next week I am to create a small group class program including timeframe, subjects to be covered, and a list of materials needed. Kind of like making a syllabus but for the parents of children and for myself.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”

-Steve Jobs