Relieving/Substituting Someone Else's Class

I’m writing this as I sit in an empty teaching studio in a high school.  Waiting for the next student to turn up.  The last two have been a no-show.  I have no idea how to go about finding the students who are supposed to be here.  These are mot my regular students.  I’m relieving for another teacher.

It’s always weird teaching for someone else (more so since I’m teaching instruments I’m not particularly proficient at).  They do things differently to you, they use different material and relate to their students in a different manner to yours.

There are some things you can do to make the process easier.  Know where the timetable is.  Find out where the staff toilets are.  Ask the HoD what to do if students don’t turn up (some are really cruisey and don’t mind, others send you on a wild-goose chase throughout the school).

With the students, all the usual introductory rules apply – tell the students your name, try to find a connection (how you know their regular teacher).

Find out what they’ve been working on and what they’d like to work on with you.  They may need to go over their jazz band music, get your opinion on their solo, or, they may just like going over old material with you. Unless the actual teacher has specifically requested it, I tend not to introduce new material.  You won’t be there the following week to keep it going, and the regular teacher will already have their plans in place for their students.

If I have an idea of where the students are at I sometimes bring in new music, but more often it’s better to keep going with what the regular teacher has given them.  One trick I love is to get the students to show me where they are up to in the tutor book, then say, “Right, today we’re going to play every song in the book!”  Because, chances are, they can’t play everything.  And this is a non-threatening way to go over old material.

For more advanced players I get them to play me their favourite/best piece, then we might focus on things to make it even better, e.g. dynamics, phrasing, intonation.

Temporarily going into someone else’s class means you have to be very respectful.  Even if you don’t agree with the way they do something, or you think a certain student would be better off with song X rather than song Y, it’s not your business to go and change things.  The other teacher probably has very good reasons for not focussing on, say, articulation at the moment.  They may be working on fingering instead.  They will get to articulation, but they have seen a greater need for a focus elsewhere.  It’s not your place to change it.  Likewise, if you disagree with, say a particular fingering or grade level for an exam.  The main teacher knows their students far better than you do.

If there is something that concerns you, you could bring it up with the teacher.  After the lesson, maybe email them and say something like: “Thanks for the opportunity to take your classes today.  I had a lot of fun with the students.  I noticed student Z does [whatever concerns you]. In the past I’ve success with students like that by getting to them to [potential solution].  But I’m sure you’ve tried that already!”

This tells the teacher that you’ve engaged with their students and that you acknowledge their teaching style, but also offers a suggestion for improvement in a non-threatening, non-patronising manner.