Are you a Top Special Education Teacher?

1. You love your role, you love being with your students and you couldn't imagine doing anything else. You were meant to teach special needs children, you know this in your heart.

2. You have a great deal of patience and know that little steps in learning go a long way.

3. You know your students well and they are comfortable and at ease with you, they enjoy having you as their teacher and look forward to going school each day.

4. You provide a non-threatening, welcoming environment that nurtures each of the students you work with.

5. You understand your students, you know what motivates them and you know how to scaffold activities to ensure that maximum learning occurs.

6. You take each student from where they are and provide experiences that will maximize success. You're always discovering new things about your students.

7. You are very comfortable working with exceptional learners and learners with diverse needs.

8. You thrive on challenge, can easily build relationships with your students and your student's parents.

9. You are a life-long learner and committed to the profession.

10. You have a never ending willingness to ensure that all students reach their maximum potential. You constantly strive to 'reach and teach' every student under your care.

Are you a Top Special Education Teacher?

1. You love your role, you love being with your students and you couldn't imagine doing anything else. You were meant to teach special needs children, you know this in your heart.

2. You have a great deal of patience and know that little steps in learning go a long way.

3. You know your students well and they are comfortable and at ease with you, they enjoy having you as their teacher and look forward to going school each day.

4. You provide a non-threatening, welcoming environment that nurtures each of the students you work with.

5. You understand your students, you know what motivates them and you know how to scaffold activities to ensure that maximum learning occurs.

6. You take each student from where they are and provide experiences that will maximize success. You're always discovering new things about your students.

7. You are very comfortable working with exceptional learners and learners with diverse needs.

8. You thrive on challenge, can easily build relationships with your students and your student's parents.

9. You are a life-long learner and committed to the profession.

10. You have a never ending willingness to ensure that all students reach their maximum potential. You constantly strive to 'reach and teach' every student under your care.

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great ¹⁾artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the ²⁾medium is the human mind and spirit.

I shall speak only of my first teacher because ³⁾in addition to the other things, she brought discovery.

She aroused us to shouting, bookwaving discussions. She had the noisiest class in school and she didn’t even seem to know it. We could never ⁴⁾stick to the subject. She breathed curiosity into us so that we brought in facts or truths ⁵⁾shielded in our hands like ⁶⁾captured ⁷⁾fireflies.

She was fired and perhaps ⁸⁾rightly so, for failing to teach ⁹⁾fundamentals. Such things must be learned. But she left a passion in us for the pure knowable world and she ¹⁰⁾inflamed me with a curiosity which has never left. I could not do simple ¹¹⁾arithmetic but through her I sensed that ¹²⁾abstract ¹³⁾mathematics was very much like music.

When she was relieved, a sadness came over us but the light did not go out. She left her ¹⁴⁾signature on us, the literature of the teacher who writes on minds. I suppose that to a large extent I am the unsigned ¹⁵⁾manuscript of the high school teacher. What deathless power lies in the hands of such a person.

I can tell my son who looks forward with horror to fifteen years of ¹⁶⁾drudgery that somewhere in the ¹⁷⁾dusty dark a magic may happen that will ¹⁸⁾light up the years... if he is very lucky.

I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great ¹⁾artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the ²⁾medium is the human mind and spirit.

I shall speak only of my first teacher because ³⁾in addition to the other things, she brought discovery.

She aroused us to shouting, bookwaving discussions. She had the noisiest class in school and she didn’t even seem to know it. We could never ⁴⁾stick to the subject. She breathed curiosity into us so that we brought in facts or truths ⁵⁾shielded in our hands like ⁶⁾captured ⁷⁾fireflies.

She was fired and perhaps ⁸⁾rightly so, for failing to teach ⁹⁾fundamentals. Such things must be learned. But she left a passion in us for the pure knowable world and she ¹⁰⁾inflamed me with a curiosity which has never left. I could not do simple ¹¹⁾arithmetic but through her I sensed that ¹²⁾abstract ¹³⁾mathematics was very much like music.

When she was relieved, a sadness came over us but the light did not go out. She left her ¹⁴⁾signature on us, the literature of the teacher who writes on minds. I suppose that to a large extent I am the unsigned ¹⁵⁾manuscript of the high school teacher. What deathless power lies in the hands of such a person.

I can tell my son who looks forward with horror to fifteen years of ¹⁶⁾drudgery that somewhere in the ¹⁷⁾dusty dark a magic may happen that will ¹⁸⁾light up the years... if he is very lucky.

Patrick Williams doesn't look like a decorated high school teacher who speaks seven languages, has taken his students abroad, and has earned prodigious praise from school board brass. He wears a gray-and-white camouflage wife-beater, yellow-and-blue surf shorts, and white sneakers with no socks. His teeth are capped in gold, and he sports long dreadlocks tucked into a brown headwrap.

But when he talks, you understand why many of his students and their parents love him. "When I see my students succeed, and know I was a genuine part of that success, it gives me great joy," he says. "And it's more than that. I feel I have a vested interest in seeing them grow up."

On October 19, after a debate with his boss, William H. Turner Technical High School Principal Valmarie Rhoden, Williams was removed from his teaching position.

The teacher's banishment to administrative duty is an example of how some school administrators quash dissent, says Shawn Beightol, a chemistry teacher and union steward who went through a similar ordeal. "There is a culture of coercion and fear to quell teachers from speaking up. Patrick is an amazing teacher. How are you going to pull him out of a classroom when you can't get someone else with half his qualifications? What the principal is doing to him looks pretty vindictive."

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Williams moved to Miami in 1982 when he was 16 years old. Two years later he graduated from South Dade Senior High in Homestead, where he overcame childhood dyslexia and won an honorable mention for the Miami Herald Silver Knight Award in foreign language, as well as a partial scholarship to attend Florida International University. In 1998 he earned a master's degree in education from Florida Atlantic University.

He has worked at some of the area's most difficult schools, regularly earning praise from his bosses. In 1990 Williams landed his first assignment, teaching Spanish and French at Westview Elementary School and Westview Middle School in Opa-locka.

On December 11, 1991, Westview Middle School Principal Darrel Berteux wrote Williams a thank-you note: "Please allow me to express my appreciation for your participation in last evening's PTA meeting musical presentation. The time and effort you exhibited are truly indicative of your continued support."

After five years, Williams transferred to Miami Central Senior High, where he taught Spanish until taking a sabbatical in 2003 to work on his Ph.D. at the University of Miami. He has also held adjunct professorships at Florida Atlantic University, Florida Memorial College, and the University of Miami. "Mr. Williams encourages his students to work to their full potential. His enthusiasm and dedication have been keys to their success," wrote Central's principal, Charles Bethel, in a recommendation letter.

When the teacher returned from sabbatical in 2005, the school district placed him at Ammons Middle School in Quail Heights. A month later Williams, who earns $56,000 a year, transferred to Turner because the district added Spanish to the curriculum and the school was closer to his house.

Turner is a Title 1 school with 1800 students, primarily black and Hispanic teenagers from lower-income families. In addition to regular classes, Turner also provides training in several technical fields. The school even includes a working farm with chickens, goats, and peacocks.

Rhoden, a 34-year school system veteran who wears crisp business suits and her curly auburn hair shoulder-length, took over as principal there in 1993. Prior to that, she was Turner's vice principal for adult education. Rhoden, who earns an annual $103,446, declined to comment for this story.

About a year after his arrival, Williams and Rhoden began knocking heads over his physical appearance. On April 22, 2005, she ordered him to go home after he showed up for teacher planning day wearing a tank top, according to a memo he wrote her a month later.

He responded in a letter to the principal dated May 19, 2005, claiming Rhoden had never admonished female employees who wear tank tops to work. "Your action towards me has been discriminatory," Williams wrote. "If the attire I wear is inappropriate, then it is inappropriate for everyone, both men and women."

Williams didn't let the disagreement with Rhoden get in the way of his work. He was assigned to teach a regular Spanish class, but won approval from district officials and his 18 students to teach an advanced-placement-level curriculum. "I wanted to give them a challenge," Williams explains.

And when there weren't textbooks for the course, he purchased his own teaching materials, including six books, at $15 to $20 each. "I found activities online by Googling 'Spanish AP,'" he says. "I would write assignments and lessons on the blackboard."

On September 22, 2006, Miami-Dade Public Schools Administrative Director Verdell King sent Williams a letter commending him on a job well done. It noted that 16 of his 18 students had passed their advanced placement exams the preceding spring. Williams says the number was unique because, of the 187 Turner students who took AP exams in different subjects, only 22 passed. "It is an achievement sought by many but achieved by few," King wrote. "Hats off to you!"

In spring 2006, all 18 students passed the exam, again without the aid of textbooks.

And it seemed his relationship with Rhoden had improved. On February 23, she sent Williams a handwritten note thanking him for inviting her to his classroom to see the kids perform an FCAT rap song. "I love you," she wrote.

But then, on March 19, Williams called the school's regional district office to report that six of his students had complained their cell phones had been stolen. The office sent a school police officer to take statements and file a report. A month later, Rhoden reprimanded Williams because he did not report the alleged crime to her or one of the assistant principals.

On May 9, Rhoden admonished Williams again. This time she alleged he had bought sodas for his students from a vending machine in the faculty lounge. The principal reminded him about a school board policy that bans the sale of carbonated soft drinks to children on school grounds.

Patrick Williams doesn't look like a decorated high school teacher who speaks seven languages, has taken his students abroad, and has earned prodigious praise from school board brass. He wears a gray-and-white camouflage wife-beater, yellow-and-blue surf shorts, and white sneakers with no socks. His teeth are capped in gold, and he sports long dreadlocks tucked into a brown headwrap.

But when he talks, you understand why many of his students and their parents love him. "When I see my students succeed, and know I was a genuine part of that success, it gives me great joy," he says. "And it's more than that. I feel I have a vested interest in seeing them grow up."

On October 19, after a debate with his boss, William H. Turner Technical High School Principal Valmarie Rhoden, Williams was removed from his teaching position.

The teacher's banishment to administrative duty is an example of how some school administrators quash dissent, says Shawn Beightol, a chemistry teacher and union steward who went through a similar ordeal. "There is a culture of coercion and fear to quell teachers from speaking up. Patrick is an amazing teacher. How are you going to pull him out of a classroom when you can't get someone else with half his qualifications? What the principal is doing to him looks pretty vindictive."

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Williams moved to Miami in 1982 when he was 16 years old. Two years later he graduated from South Dade Senior High in Homestead, where he overcame childhood dyslexia and won an honorable mention for the Miami Herald Silver Knight Award in foreign language, as well as a partial scholarship to attend Florida International University. In 1998 he earned a master's degree in education from Florida Atlantic University.

He has worked at some of the area's most difficult schools, regularly earning praise from his bosses. In 1990 Williams landed his first assignment, teaching Spanish and French at Westview Elementary School and Westview Middle School in Opa-locka.

On December 11, 1991, Westview Middle School Principal Darrel Berteux wrote Williams a thank-you note: "Please allow me to express my appreciation for your participation in last evening's PTA meeting musical presentation. The time and effort you exhibited are truly indicative of your continued support."

After five years, Williams transferred to Miami Central Senior High, where he taught Spanish until taking a sabbatical in 2003 to work on his Ph.D. at the University of Miami. He has also held adjunct professorships at Florida Atlantic University, Florida Memorial College, and the University of Miami. "Mr. Williams encourages his students to work to their full potential. His enthusiasm and dedication have been keys to their success," wrote Central's principal, Charles Bethel, in a recommendation letter.

When the teacher returned from sabbatical in 2005, the school district placed him at Ammons Middle School in Quail Heights. A month later Williams, who earns $56,000 a year, transferred to Turner because the district added Spanish to the curriculum and the school was closer to his house.

Turner is a Title 1 school with 1800 students, primarily black and Hispanic teenagers from lower-income families. In addition to regular classes, Turner also provides training in several technical fields. The school even includes a working farm with chickens, goats, and peacocks.

Rhoden, a 34-year school system veteran who wears crisp business suits and her curly auburn hair shoulder-length, took over as principal there in 1993. Prior to that, she was Turner's vice principal for adult education. Rhoden, who earns an annual $103,446, declined to comment for this story.

About a year after his arrival, Williams and Rhoden began knocking heads over his physical appearance. On April 22, 2005, she ordered him to go home after he showed up for teacher planning day wearing a tank top, according to a memo he wrote her a month later.

He responded in a letter to the principal dated May 19, 2005, claiming Rhoden had never admonished female employees who wear tank tops to work. "Your action towards me has been discriminatory," Williams wrote. "If the attire I wear is inappropriate, then it is inappropriate for everyone, both men and women."

Williams didn't let the disagreement with Rhoden get in the way of his work. He was assigned to teach a regular Spanish class, but won approval from district officials and his 18 students to teach an advanced-placement-level curriculum. "I wanted to give them a challenge," Williams explains.

And when there weren't textbooks for the course, he purchased his own teaching materials, including six books, at $15 to $20 each. "I found activities online by Googling 'Spanish AP,'" he says. "I would write assignments and lessons on the blackboard."

On September 22, 2006, Miami-Dade Public Schools Administrative Director Verdell King sent Williams a letter commending him on a job well done. It noted that 16 of his 18 students had passed their advanced placement exams the preceding spring. Williams says the number was unique because, of the 187 Turner students who took AP exams in different subjects, only 22 passed. "It is an achievement sought by many but achieved by few," King wrote. "Hats off to you!"

In spring 2006, all 18 students passed the exam, again without the aid of textbooks.

And it seemed his relationship with Rhoden had improved. On February 23, she sent Williams a handwritten note thanking him for inviting her to his classroom to see the kids perform an FCAT rap song. "I love you," she wrote.

But then, on March 19, Williams called the school's regional district office to report that six of his students had complained their cell phones had been stolen. The office sent a school police officer to take statements and file a report. A month later, Rhoden reprimanded Williams because he did not report the alleged crime to her or one of the assistant principals.

On May 9, Rhoden admonished Williams again. This time she alleged he had bought sodas for his students from a vending machine in the faculty lounge. The principal reminded him about a school board policy that bans the sale of carbonated soft drinks to children on school grounds.

There three distinct steps in finding a teacher: telephone queries, calling references, and in-studio interviews.

Adult Students

The first step is to be clear on what your goals are in study. Do you want to play classical pieces? Jazz? Play for some practical use (church, school, children)? Some combination of goals?

How long do you allot yourself to reach these goals? The claim of "play the piano in 6 easy lessons" is fantasy. Remember that playing the piano is not like watching TV. YOU will be doing it, not sitting back and having it showered on you. Playing the piano involves reading the notation, listening/hearing, physical motor skills, and letting yourself go (interpretation). A multi-media event, if you will!

How long should it take? If you work hard (one hour a day or more), are an adult or mature teen, and have a good teacher, you can expect to be at late elementary/early intermediate level in one year. (This has been my experience, at any rate.) See elsewhere for a more detailed discussion of this in the first question of my Q&A file for students and parents.

Child and Teen Students

If you are looking for a teacher for your child, make sure you and your child talk about his own goals -and- your goals for him. They may not be the same. Also, make sure the child understands that playing a musical instrument will take effort on his part. He should agree to spend at least 30 min. a day on his music studies.

At the interview, I tell my prospective students that their schoolwork comes first every day, but after that, it's piano time. This is before talking on the phone, reading a book, watching TV, going out to play, etc. I also say that occasionally there will be days when a heavy schoolwork load or some other reason means that there will be time only for schoolwork and piano before it's bedtime; they must accept this possibility so they're not surprised when someday there's no playtime.

Where to Find a Good Teacher

The first place to look for a teacher is to ask friends/relatives who study. Ask what they like (and dislike) about that teacher.

Next, visit music stores and instrument dealers and ask for their list of teachers.

Your yellow pages can be another source. Besides teachers, look for the local music teachers' association and call the current president for a list of members. Most teachers' associations require a music degree for admission. (Some allow membership if the teacher presents "equivalent" preparation. Whether you feel comfortable with a teacher credentialed like this is a decision only you can make. Know, however, that improving skills and knowledge is a very good sign!)

Particularly if you are looking for lessons for a child, the school teacher, school music teacher, choir director (school and church), etc. can steer you in the right direction (toward teachers who are especially good with children).

Your piano technician is another good place to get teachers' names.

Call the local college or university's music department and ask for the chairperson of the piano faculty. Ask for recommendations of local teachers. Generally, a music department keeps a list of teachers for just this purpose. Note: these teachers may or may not have been screened in any way.

Also, look for a teacher in the classified ads of your local paper. If you have a local magazine ("Focus on the East Village"), check there for ads, too.

When you have all the names you can find (and after you have eliminated any who are obviously not a fit), see if any names appear more than once (for whatever reason). Call all these teachers first. If you do not find a teacher among these (see rest of procedure below), call the rest of them.

Interviewing the Teacher by Telephone

Your job here is to sift through the names you have and eliminate any that aren't a "fit," for whatever reason (location, price, available lesson times, pedagogy/curriculum, training, experience, for example).

I encourage you to take your time as you search for a teacher. You are investing not only money but time (never recaptured!) and effort. Spend each of these currencies wisely!

Here are some general areas you should explore with the teachers as you do your research.

(1) What are the teacher's academic/preparatory credentials? How long has the teacher been teaching? Teaching in this particular geographic area? How much experience has the teacher had in teaching children like yours (age, sex, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, absolute beginner, etc.)?

(2) How much is tuition? Are there other non-tuition fees? If so, what, how much, how often, and are the activities these extra fees cover optional? Is there an early-pay discount? Second-student discount ("family plan" - - don't count on it!)?

(3) How are make-up lessons handled? What if your child comes home sick in the middle of the school day or wakes up sick? What if your family wants to take a vacation? Does the teacher allow you to cancel lessons (that is, not come -and- not pay)?

(4) Does the teacher use any specific methodology (such as Suzuki)? What are the primary elements of whatever method this may be, and why is this one preferable to another method or the "traditional approach"?

(5) Does the teacher use a "method series"? If so, which one and why? If not, what is used instead and why? A method series is a group of related books by the same author, divided into "levels." Usually there is a song book, technique book, theory book, and a book of supplemental songs ("recital" book or a smilar title). Some teachers use method series throughout a child's study. Others use only the first one or two (or three) levels and then move to other material. Some teachers - - I'm one - - do not use method series at all.

(6) What are the major parts of the curriculum? Generally, these would be literature (songs), technique, music theory and history, and ear training. There might be composition, ensemble playing, or other specilizaed programs for students interested particuarly in them. Is pop music included? How much of the literature is pop and how much classical ("standard repertoire")?

(7) Are there any special programs in the studio, such as an electronic music lab, composition, or group sessions?

(8) How are materials obtained? Who pays for them? What other materials are needed for lessons? Metronome? Cassette recording tapes to record the lesson? Computer DVDs?

(9) How long does the teacher expect the child to practice daily? Does the teacher want the student to record pratice minutes? If not, how does the teacher structure home practice? does the teacher expect you to assist with daily practice? If so, doing what?

(10) Are you welcome at the lesson? I'd be kind of suspicious if you are barred outright. Although some teachers "discourage" it, they will "allow" it. Even if the teacher adopts the latter approach toward parental attendance, is this perhaps a red flag? It is my opinion that the teacher should want the parent there (especially for child under 13). This is so the parent will know what she will be hearing in the ensuing week, will know how to help at home during the week, and so on.

(11) Are there recitals? How many, approximately, each year? Where are they held? (A transfer student would be interested in whether music may be used or whether memory playing is required.)

(12) Where is the teacher located? Does the teacher travel to students' homes? If so, is there an extra fee for this? More on this below.

(13) What are the available lesson times?

(14) Most teachers teach private lessons. Some offer group sessions or the child, in addition to a private lesson. I'd steer clear of a teacher who offered only group (or partner) lessons. You want teaching geared to your child, not others!

(15) Ask for references. Particularly you want families that have children as closely-matched as possible to your child. If he's four, you'd like to talk to parents of other young boys. Parents of teen girls will be helpful, of course, but a "type match" will net you more information!

Note: Top-notch teachers will first ask you for your goals and questions (see above) and then answer them with your goals and concerns in mind. This helps you understand how the teacher's program translates itself to your child. If the teacher doesn't seem to have paid attention/correctly interpreted your goals, is generally distracted (do you hear children or pets in the background?), or does not take charge of the conversation at this point in the telephone chat, this may be a very bad sign.

Now that you've asked your questions, the teacher will ask his. He's trying to decide whether you might be a good fit with his program. Expect things like this:

(1) Does the child want to play or is it your idea? How does the child show interest? For how long has he indicated interest in learning to play the piano? If piano lessons are your idea (and this is perfectly fine!), is the child interested now that you mention it, not particularly enthusiastic but amenable, or says "no way!" ? If the child doesn't want to play the piano, it's going to be an uphill battle for everyone.

(2) Do you have a piano in the home? If not, how will you obtain one? When? (Go back to the consumer ed page and follow links there about pianos.)

(3) Are there siblings? How do they impact the availability of the parent to help the pianist if needed? (The teacher will ask you to make other arrangements for them during lesson times.)

(4) Does anyone else in the family play the piano? Another intrument or sing?

(5) What other activities does the child have? This gives the teacher an idea of whether the child is over-scheduled and adding something more means the child will be stressed and/or will not have time or energy to devote to piano study.

(6) Who will be bringing the child to lessons? Do you have a back-up plan in case the driver is unable to get the child to the lesson?

(7) What sorts of music does the child enjoy? Any he does not? (Rap is usually the answer here!) What sorts of music does the family enjoy?

Note: Often, parents want the teacher to come to them. If this is the primary criterion for you, mention it right way. If the teacher doesn't travel, it's best that you end the conversation after a few closing pleasantries...unless you decide you want to hear what the teacher has to say and ask why coming to her studio is superior to having her come to you.

There three distinct steps in finding a teacher: telephone queries, calling references, and in-studio interviews.

Adult Students

The first step is to be clear on what your goals are in study. Do you want to play classical pieces? Jazz? Play for some practical use (church, school, children)? Some combination of goals?

How long do you allot yourself to reach these goals? The claim of "play the piano in 6 easy lessons" is fantasy. Remember that playing the piano is not like watching TV. YOU will be doing it, not sitting back and having it showered on you. Playing the piano involves reading the notation, listening/hearing, physical motor skills, and letting yourself go (interpretation). A multi-media event, if you will!

How long should it take? If you work hard (one hour a day or more), are an adult or mature teen, and have a good teacher, you can expect to be at late elementary/early intermediate level in one year. (This has been my experience, at any rate.) See elsewhere for a more detailed discussion of this in the first question of my Q&A file for students and parents.

Child and Teen Students

If you are looking for a teacher for your child, make sure you and your child talk about his own goals -and- your goals for him. They may not be the same. Also, make sure the child understands that playing a musical instrument will take effort on his part. He should agree to spend at least 30 min. a day on his music studies.

At the interview, I tell my prospective students that their schoolwork comes first every day, but after that, it's piano time. This is before talking on the phone, reading a book, watching TV, going out to play, etc. I also say that occasionally there will be days when a heavy schoolwork load or some other reason means that there will be time only for schoolwork and piano before it's bedtime; they must accept this possibility so they're not surprised when someday there's no playtime.

Where to Find a Good Teacher

The first place to look for a teacher is to ask friends/relatives who study. Ask what they like (and dislike) about that teacher.

Next, visit music stores and instrument dealers and ask for their list of teachers.

Your yellow pages can be another source. Besides teachers, look for the local music teachers' association and call the current president for a list of members. Most teachers' associations require a music degree for admission. (Some allow membership if the teacher presents "equivalent" preparation. Whether you feel comfortable with a teacher credentialed like this is a decision only you can make. Know, however, that improving skills and knowledge is a very good sign!)

Particularly if you are looking for lessons for a child, the school teacher, school music teacher, choir director (school and church), etc. can steer you in the right direction (toward teachers who are especially good with children).

Your piano technician is another good place to get teachers' names.

Call the local college or university's music department and ask for the chairperson of the piano faculty. Ask for recommendations of local teachers. Generally, a music department keeps a list of teachers for just this purpose. Note: these teachers may or may not have been screened in any way.

Also, look for a teacher in the classified ads of your local paper. If you have a local magazine ("Focus on the East Village"), check there for ads, too.

When you have all the names you can find (and after you have eliminated any who are obviously not a fit), see if any names appear more than once (for whatever reason). Call all these teachers first. If you do not find a teacher among these (see rest of procedure below), call the rest of them.

Interviewing the Teacher by Telephone

Your job here is to sift through the names you have and eliminate any that aren't a "fit," for whatever reason (location, price, available lesson times, pedagogy/curriculum, training, experience, for example).

I encourage you to take your time as you search for a teacher. You are investing not only money but time (never recaptured!) and effort. Spend each of these currencies wisely!

Here are some general areas you should explore with the teachers as you do your research.

(1) What are the teacher's academic/preparatory credentials? How long has the teacher been teaching? Teaching in this particular geographic area? How much experience has the teacher had in teaching children like yours (age, sex, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, absolute beginner, etc.)?

(2) How much is tuition? Are there other non-tuition fees? If so, what, how much, how often, and are the activities these extra fees cover optional? Is there an early-pay discount? Second-student discount ("family plan" - - don't count on it!)?

(3) How are make-up lessons handled? What if your child comes home sick in the middle of the school day or wakes up sick? What if your family wants to take a vacation? Does the teacher allow you to cancel lessons (that is, not come -and- not pay)?

(4) Does the teacher use any specific methodology (such as Suzuki)? What are the primary elements of whatever method this may be, and why is this one preferable to another method or the "traditional approach"?

(5) Does the teacher use a "method series"? If so, which one and why? If not, what is used instead and why? A method series is a group of related books by the same author, divided into "levels." Usually there is a song book, technique book, theory book, and a book of supplemental songs ("recital" book or a smilar title). Some teachers use method series throughout a child's study. Others use only the first one or two (or three) levels and then move to other material. Some teachers - - I'm one - - do not use method series at all.

(6) What are the major parts of the curriculum? Generally, these would be literature (songs), technique, music theory and history, and ear training. There might be composition, ensemble playing, or other specilizaed programs for students interested particuarly in them. Is pop music included? How much of the literature is pop and how much classical ("standard repertoire")?

(7) Are there any special programs in the studio, such as an electronic music lab, composition, or group sessions?

(8) How are materials obtained? Who pays for them? What other materials are needed for lessons? Metronome? Cassette recording tapes to record the lesson? Computer DVDs?

(9) How long does the teacher expect the child to practice daily? Does the teacher want the student to record pratice minutes? If not, how does the teacher structure home practice? does the teacher expect you to assist with daily practice? If so, doing what?

(10) Are you welcome at the lesson? I'd be kind of suspicious if you are barred outright. Although some teachers "discourage" it, they will "allow" it. Even if the teacher adopts the latter approach toward parental attendance, is this perhaps a red flag? It is my opinion that the teacher should want the parent there (especially for child under 13). This is so the parent will know what she will be hearing in the ensuing week, will know how to help at home during the week, and so on.

(11) Are there recitals? How many, approximately, each year? Where are they held? (A transfer student would be interested in whether music may be used or whether memory playing is required.)

(12) Where is the teacher located? Does the teacher travel to students' homes? If so, is there an extra fee for this? More on this below.

(13) What are the available lesson times?

(14) Most teachers teach private lessons. Some offer group sessions or the child, in addition to a private lesson. I'd steer clear of a teacher who offered only group (or partner) lessons. You want teaching geared to your child, not others!

(15) Ask for references. Particularly you want families that have children as closely-matched as possible to your child. If he's four, you'd like to talk to parents of other young boys. Parents of teen girls will be helpful, of course, but a "type match" will net you more information!

Note: Top-notch teachers will first ask you for your goals and questions (see above) and then answer them with your goals and concerns in mind. This helps you understand how the teacher's program translates itself to your child. If the teacher doesn't seem to have paid attention/correctly interpreted your goals, is generally distracted (do you hear children or pets in the background?), or does not take charge of the conversation at this point in the telephone chat, this may be a very bad sign.

Now that you've asked your questions, the teacher will ask his. He's trying to decide whether you might be a good fit with his program. Expect things like this:

(1) Does the child want to play or is it your idea? How does the child show interest? For how long has he indicated interest in learning to play the piano? If piano lessons are your idea (and this is perfectly fine!), is the child interested now that you mention it, not particularly enthusiastic but amenable, or says "no way!" ? If the child doesn't want to play the piano, it's going to be an uphill battle for everyone.

(2) Do you have a piano in the home? If not, how will you obtain one? When? (Go back to the consumer ed page and follow links there about pianos.)

(3) Are there siblings? How do they impact the availability of the parent to help the pianist if needed? (The teacher will ask you to make other arrangements for them during lesson times.)

(4) Does anyone else in the family play the piano? Another intrument or sing?

(5) What other activities does the child have? This gives the teacher an idea of whether the child is over-scheduled and adding something more means the child will be stressed and/or will not have time or energy to devote to piano study.

(6) Who will be bringing the child to lessons? Do you have a back-up plan in case the driver is unable to get the child to the lesson?

(7) What sorts of music does the child enjoy? Any he does not? (Rap is usually the answer here!) What sorts of music does the family enjoy?

Note: Often, parents want the teacher to come to them. If this is the primary criterion for you, mention it right way. If the teacher doesn't travel, it's best that you end the conversation after a few closing pleasantries...unless you decide you want to hear what the teacher has to say and ask why coming to her studio is superior to having her come to you.