What you may have forgotten in your piano policy…
A few weeks ago, a teaching friend emailed me with a very scary story. She and I both think you might want to read this. It’s a good reminder to make sure you include a place to update emergency contact information every year on your agreement to terms. Be sure you have an agreement to terms since parents need to at least update contact information and it is also good for them to re-read and re-acknowledge your policy terms.
Here’s the scary story:
Rachel came to her weekly lesson and we proceeded thru our usual warm-ups. During a 3 octave scale, she stopped playing, looked straight ahead, took a step back towards a folding chair and fell over….during this time I transferred my violin & bow to my left hand and grabbed her with her brand new violin in between us, softening her flop down into the chair.
What would you have done?
Obviously, if the parent was there, you would call the parent into the room! But if the parent wasn’t there, what would you do? Would you have the parents’ cell phone numbers in your phone so you could easily call them? Would you call an ambulance? When you call the ambulance, you might also start wondering (both in the moment and especially later):
- How do I get the mom here NOW?
- Do I have authority to let the ambulance take her to the hospital?
- Who will pay for the ambulance?
- What if the parents didn’t want me to call an ambulance? Will they refuse to pay and then will the EMS bill me?
The truth is, if the mom leaves the child in your care, you are accepting responsibility for that child. Some teachers don’t allow parents to leave the premises because of this. But we all know that parents leave their children with teachers all the time.
So what should we do?
I asked an attorney about this
I asked an attorney if he thought it was necessary to have a medical release in our policy for occasions where the parents are gone. He said that in the case of piano lessons where it’s only for 45 minutes and we aren’t engaging in risky activities (music lessons aren’t usually risky!), he didn’t think there was any need for it. However, if we are running a piano camp that lasts longer, that might be cause for a medical release. If you are a parent, I’m sure that you’ve had to sign these for day camps for your children.
Here’s what IS necessary
What is necessary though is emergency contact information! Every year, we should include a place where parents must update their emergency contact information! Sometimes phone numbers change and you need to know how to contact the parents if something like an emergency occurs.
In addition, it’s smart to ask if there are any medical issues (including food allergies) for each child. I once had a student with a serious peanut and wheat allergy and the parent always left an epi-pen for me during group lessons with food. It was paramount that I both know that and know what to do in case of emergency!
On the more extreme end of over-planning and over-thinking something (I’m good at that fortunately and unfortunately!), it might also be a wise thing to include this statement in your policy. (I don’t think this idea is urgent enough for you to recall any agreement to terms from this year and make parents sign them again. Just think about it for next year):
In case of medical emergency, I will use my best judgement in obtaining medical care for your child and you accept the responsibility for any related expenses.
Here’s My Agreement to Terms You Can Use!
Feel free to click here to get a sample of my agreement to terms in your email. It’s simple, but covers the bases.
What happened to Rachel?
So, back to the story. Here’s what happened to Rachel. The teacher continues:
I raised my voice to her mom who was luckily in the next room (I always leave the door open). She came in straight away, and after a few minutes Rachel revived. She was looking very pale, but the mother just wanted to leave without calling for any ambulance since she felt okay after that.
And here is the message this teacher wants you to know:
I just want to share with other teachers, the need to have on hand (and keep updated) an easily accessible emergency contact form for all your students. If the student’s mom had dropped her off, I honestly do not know what I would have done. I probably would have called 911…and the parents would now be facing a huge bill from not just ambulance, but emergency room.
What kinds of stories do you have that you can share that might help us all in being prepared? Are there other things you have your forgotten in your piano policy in the past? Do you have other suggestions of how to ensure the safety of our students?
Thank you! My trumpet student had a seizure and fell straight back. Luckily his mother was there. She said he never had a seizure before.
I am making a bright emergency contact card to fasten to each student’s folder, even for those whose parents always stay for the lessons.
After a tornado alert was issued, which I didn’t know because I didn’t have the TV or radio on and the windows in my teaching space face north (most tornadoes come from the west and south), I realized I needed a weather alert radio. I’ve found that when the weather is ripe for tornadoes some of my students would become fearful. I could show them the weather radio and that would calm them knowing that if we were in the path of a tornado that we would know and could go to the basement. Now we can receive alerts on our smart phones or tablets.
Also, I took a CPR class in order to be ready in case of an emergency.
I have my emergency contacts on a red page in each student’s folder. Also, I am CPR certified. It does not cost much and is useful even if one of my student’s parents has an emergency. Also useful for my own aging parents. Have a wonderful fall semester!
That’s pretty scary. Luckily the parents were there. I probably would call 911 too. Thanks for the inspiration, I’m going to look this over and get some emergency contact numbers too.
As a teacher, I also recommend listing your emergency contact on the wall. I was the one that had a seizure!
Wow, Melody! Now, that is a good idea. Also, having the ICE feature (in case of emergency) on your phone filled in with the right contact info would be good. Thanks for your comment! I hope you are okay!
Thank you, Wendy! Super ideas!
Concerning sick students. I had a student whose family drove almost an hour each way. The student was a high school student and came so sick and achy that she said she could not keep her arms up…it hurt to much. I looked at her again and could see the glassy eyes and flushed face of a pretty rough fever. I told her to pack up and her mom, who was out in the car, should take her home. She said she could make it thru the lesson. I told her maybe you can, but if you get me sick there is a whole studio of children who will NOT get a lesson. Mother was argumentative and miffed that I stood my ground and would not give the student a lesson. Sometimes a teacher needs to know she or he has policy For A Good Reason!!! And parents can think what they want, but STAND your ground!!!!
Dear Wendy, I am thinking of adding to my enrolment form a section that may be called Special Needs. During this year I have gained a Transfer Student who, when told he had played a wrong note and another time when I have introduced a new activity , became filled with anger.
I was not warned by the mother who sits in the piano lesson that he( year three student) was having anger management counselling at school. You can imagine the fright I had on both occasions. By stopping the lesson and changing to listening to music everything calmed down. Christine
Hi Christine,
Yes, I think that is a good idea to allow parents to inform you of these kinds of special needs and how to handle them. I think every enrollment form I’ve filled out for my kids (including school) has included a place to inform them of special needs. It might be good to specificially ask: “Does your child have any special needs or behaviors? What is the best way to handle these in your experience?”
Great idea!
We must have business insurance..but most importantly…we need to know CPR protocol….I personally adopt my students so I would never ever want anything to happen to one of them. One of my students passed away last summer…a precious 8 yr old boy passed at summer camp from meningitis …absolutely heart breaking …so to know CPR we should all go for that as teachers.
Every September I have each family complete a student contact and information sheet, which not only serves to update their phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, etc., but also gathers helpful information such as what type of piano is in the home (acoustic, electronic keyboard), whether or not the parent authorizes their contact info to be shared with other families (to arrange for lesson swaps), what the student’s other extra-curricular activities are (very enlightening in scouting out over-scheduled students), if there are any special needs, etc.
In light of recent measles outbreaks in my area, I’ve been thinking of adding a line asking parents if their child’s vaccinations are up to date. I’m not sure I feel comfortable allowing unvaccinated children into my studio community and putting others at risk. Does anyone care to weigh in on this issue?
Very informative and thought provoking. I once had a potential new student at a trial lesson faint dead away. The parents were out in the waiting area so I called them in immediately. They took her home and rescheduled. We had a second lesson and the same thing happened. Apparently under stress she faints…but until my lesson this was never an issue. Her parents got her checked and found out she had a condition. However I recommended that she not take lessons until this health situation was under control. But what would have happened if the parent wasn’t there? This additional policy could save a life.