My previous teacher had me pay her monthly, which always led to interesting
calculations when I had to miss a lesson I'd paid for, or she did. We were
always struggling to keep track of lessons I had to make up, etc., and when
I left her, she had to actually send me a refund check (she had her
students pay in advance at the beginning of the month).
My current teacher uses a "pay as you go" scheme. Yes, it means writing
more checks, but I think this works much better for her and for me, because
we're never having to deal with who owes what to whom. When she goes on
vacation - or I do - I don't pay for lessons I don't take, then try to
figure out when to make them up.
I know why my old teacher - and why many teachers - bill by the month, and
often in advance: it's because they need a predictable income flow. But
I'd strongly urge teachers who can manage to keep a "cushion" in the bank
to go to a "pay as you go" scheme with their students. For one thing, you
can stop worrying about billing your students (or their parents), so your
administrative overhead goes down.
By the way, ALL the coaches and accompanists I work with are "pay as you
go". I could never figure out why teachers don't work the same way.
Karen Mercedes
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