I have written on student retention before, but what better time to revisit that topic then when everything in our industry is being reconsidered and revamped? I believe tomorrow’s rules for retaining students will be changed by our current realities, but the current rules for maintaining students are still fundamental, so let’s revisit this topic and let’s meet Mike Harrington, a master teacher and a master of student retention.
“Mr. Mike,” as his students and their families call him, has mastered a few things that help him maintain an incredible retention rate. He has mastered music for starters, but not just one style of music. Mr. Mike’s understanding of relevant song suggestions for his students gives them exposure to iconic classics that fit them like a glove.
Let us examine one of Mr. Mike’s strategies – he always picks music that the student will love because he is completely invested in the student and he genuinely wants him or her to thrive. He never selects music based on what he, himself, wants to teach, or music that he personally prefers. He understands the one golden rule a teacher should never forget: everything is about the pupil and how the teacher can benefit the student.
If one of his students were a Billie Eilish fan and raved about seeing her singing “Sunny” on “One World: Together at Home,” Mr. Mike would leverage that moment to introduce other iconic writings such as Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman.” By doing this, he opens a discussion into the songs of Jimmy Webb. Master teachers always find the “teachable moment” and when Mr. Mike has a few students that want to sing together, he’s not afraid to introduce a catchy country classic like Eddie Rabbitt’s “Drivin’ my Life Away.” At first, you might question a back-of-the-rack choice of that nature, but think about it performed with a Fleetwood Mack flavor, or sung by The Chicks and you will quickly come to understand what this teacher knows better than most: studying music should be fun, adventurous, and creative.
Win the First Lesson
You have one chance to make a first impression and while some teachers believe the student should impress them, in truth, that is backwards. A great teacher realizes the student comes first. We work for the them! In the first lesson, it is a teacher’s duty to earn the student’s trust, and you have 30 minutes, or in some cases an hour to do that. Once you have earned that trust, only then can you guide the student on a path that will serve his best needs – and believe it or not, winning the first lesson is the road you will drive on.
Teach to the Student’s Interests
This simple idea seems obvious at first, but it’s not. When most people read that statement, they think it means, “Let the student decide the curriculum.” However, teaching to a student’s interest simply means you, as the teacher, must be so invested in the student that you can depict the “pin action” and know the second-shot all while the student is taking the first one. Our role as teachers is to win the long game. In truth you are not teaching music; you are teaching a person how to learn, and once you understand that, the music is your tool. You teach the person. Ultimately by teaching to the student’s interest, you have the chance to accomplish the most important step in retaining a student and that is to…
Carefully Build the Relationship
Another strategy that Mr. Mike uses is earning the trust and respect of his students. He continues to build on that trust, week in and week out, by using the tools of communication, respect, and the ability to motivate. Mike also injects opportunities for curiosity to develop, and like all master teachers, Mike knows that without these tools you have nothing on which to build a learning platform. He also uses a few traditional time-tested approaches, such as paying attention to his students’ energy, and keeping his energy high. He always communicates with the parents after a lesson as well. His parents know they have a special teacher in Mike Harrington. Therefore, they are in no hurry to leave.
Practice the Golden Rule of Q
When Quincy Jones produced the song, “We Are the World,” at the entrance door of the A&M recording studio he posted the words, “Check Your Egos at the Door.” Q’s message is also the golden rule of student retention. To be a great music teacher, as hard as this may be for some to hear, it is not about you – it is only about the student. Clearly, Mr. Mike lives by Q’s golden rule. At first glance this may sound like a paradox, but in Mike’s world the student comes first, the student comes last, and the student comes in between. He understands the simple truth: to be a truly effective teacher you must shrink yourself in the room. Teachers that display chops during lessons should be doing something else because that is not teaching.
There You Have it
Seems easy, right? I wish I could say it is, but it is not. It is not easy to be selfless, and it not easy to be both a great musician and a great teacher. It is not easy to be patient and it is not easy to be a qualified music historian. It is not always easy to be “on.” However, if you follow this guideline like Mr. Mike, you will find the strangest thing will start to happen. Students will stay with you a long time, and you will be 90 percent full even in the slow season. You see, Mr. Mike knows a simple truth: when you are a great teacher, there is no slow season.
Menzie Pittman is the owner and director of education at Contemporary Music Center in Virginia (CMC). Following a performance and teaching career spanning more than 32 years, he founded CMC in 1989 and continues to perform, teach, and oversee daily operations. He has 50 years of musical experience as a drummer and drum instructor. Menzie is a frequent speaker at NAMM’s Idea Center, and a freelance writer for MMR’s “Small Business Matters.”
