08/28/2026
As we head into a new school year, hereās a little reading we think is worth sharing with everyone:
āCan We Please Talk About Make-Up Music Lessons?ā by our colleague Elizabeth Faidley.
Ms. Faidley was asked to write this article by approximately 150 music teachers at a recent conventionāapparently, make-up lessons are a universal struggle for music teachers everywhere. š
We couldnāt agree more with the heart of what she has to say.
At OPSA, we absolutely think about your children outside of their scheduled lesson time. We think about their technique while weāre brushing our teeth. We wonder about a vibrato issue while walking down Lake Street. We occasionally wake up at 3:00 a.m. with a sudden realization about how to help a student who is struggling with motivation. We listen, plan, research, problem-solve, and think constantly about how we can help each child grow.
That level of care is one of the things that makes teaching music so meaningful.
But it also means that we have to protect the time and boundaries that make that kind of teaching sustainable.
In fact, we might argue that the quality of a music program can be judged, at least in part, by the quality and strength of its make-up lesson policy. A thoughtful policy protects teachers from an endless cycle of schedule rearranging while also giving families the freedom to make choices about their own livesābirthday parties, soccer tournaments, vacations, sick days, family events, and all the other things that make up a childhood.
Our children donāt have to choose violin every time.
And teachers donāt have to absorb the cost of every scheduling choice.
We are grateful to Elizabeth for putting words to something so many teachers struggle to say, and to the 150 teachers who asked her to write it in the first place.
As we begin another musical year, we hope this is a helpful reminder that good boundaries arenāt the opposite of caring. They are part of creating a healthy, sustainable, excellent music program.
Thank you, Ms. Faidley, for saying it so well. ā¤ļø
Read the full article here:
I was asked to write this blog by about 150 music teachers at a convention, which tells me that apparently we teachers have a problem, when it comes to make-up lessons. And the solution? Generally, with very few exceptions: teachers should have a policy of no make-up lessons. That may sound harsh, b...
