Pick the music that you want to play

I remember taking one of my brother's 'jazz' piano books to my high school piano teacher and asking her to teach me the pieces. She was not impressed. (It wasn't like they were even jazz standards). She put the book away and told me that I need to focus on my exam pieces. But I hated practicing the piano with a passion and I had figured that it was because I need some more inspiring pieces. Needless to say it wasn't long before I switched piano teachers, but it was still my high school subject, and I still needed to learn those exam pieces. 

Over the later years of learning to play music, I just accepted whatever pieces my teachers gave me and decided that it was the only way it needed to be done. I convinced myself that if you want to be a good musician, you have to play all the pieces you are given.

But the reality of this, is that those pieces (or scales) that didn't motivate me to practice, also lead me to recent the piano. 

Somehow, learning all the pieces on my woodwind instruments wasn't so terrifying, but it certainly didn't always make me excited about picking up my instruments and practicing.

Now as a musician, I have found that the best way to motivate myself to practice, is to pick music to play that I actually like. This is not necessarily music that I always listen to, or that is popular. But music that is interesting and fairly challenging to play. Yet it mustn't be so difficult that I can't sight-read some of it. 

If this is my motivation, then it needs to be how I approach my teaching. Yes, you still need to eat your vegetables, learn those scales and play those pieces, but a dessert of a fun piece, is a definite incentive.

So I hope that you too can find some fun, catchy music to learn this holidays.

Happy one week holiday everyone

Robyn

10 reasons I love working from home.

Today I joined the library for the first time in about 20 years. Please don't judge me. Most of the books or articles I read have something to do with business or music and so, while I did take out one fiction book, I also had to borrow a book called 'Your Guide to Working from home'. Even though the book was first published in 1997, chapter titles such as 'Discipline and Motivation, 'The Dining-room Syndrome' and 'Good habits, bad habits', sparked my interest. And, of course, the promise of being able to read something without the disruption of some pop-up advert or link distracting me.

The prospect of reading this book made me so excited because I am so blessed to work from home. I hope to eventually work from home completely, but I am counting my blessings.

Here are 10 of the many reasons I love working from home:

1. I am able to create a space that is welcoming for my students

2. I have the freedom to decorate the space as I choose

3. If there are any last minute cancellations, it is super easy to fill that time with household chores  or admin.

4. Having the ability to work reasonable hours and put food on the table

5. No added rental costs

6. No travel time is wasted

7. I am fortunate enough to have a separate studio from our house, so people do not have to come into our private space

8. The studio is dedicated space for my work, which means there is no need for me to bring work 'home'

9. I don't need to lug heavy bags with books or instruments to work

10. I have a great big room, which is spacious and clean. What more could a person ask for?

I hope that you all have a musically inspiring week.

Robyn

Back to school, back to reality

Momentum is a strange thing and I thought going into the second term, I would have lots of it, but this first week was quite strange for me. After such a short holiday break, this week didn't go as smoothly for me as I had anticipated. I realised that my life has changed so much, as I thought I could jump back into routine I found that it can't be the same as when we lived in Claremont. It certainly won't be the same once we have settled into our new place and my studio is up and running. I need to take a step back, rearrange my schedule a bit and then things will work again. While this week was a bit of a shock to the system, it's all very exciting anticipating the future. 

I guess life would be very boring if things were the same all the time. Someone once told me that in business if you are not improving your business, then it is getting worse as there is no such thing as a stagnant business. I think this is so true and I really believe that once everything has come together, I will have renewed energy as I can start to see things come together.

They also say 'all good things come to those that wait'. I'm in the waiting season and have to patient, give it a few more weeks and we'll be in full swing.

Please share with me if you have an interesting ideas I can implement in my little music school :-)

Music teacher's survival kit

So every awesome teacher needs awesome stationery, right? Oh yes they do!

Below is some stationery that I have in my studio as well as other necessities that I think every woodwind music teacher needs.

I think I will call this is my 'survival kit':


A funky clock that does not 'tick' too loudly.

Many reeds that you can sell to your students. It's so convenient for parents and saves the learner missing out if their reed suddenly decides to die!

An extra, comfortable neck strap. At least one student will forget their saxophone strap! Always handy to have a spare. Some new students come with a piece of string or a broken strap.

Your trusty metronome, tuner and music stand. I am so excited to introduce my new stand to you!

Very important paper clips. I forgot to take a picture of pins, but they aren't that exciting.

Mini screw driver set. Would you believe that I got this in a Christmas cracker one year? And it has been the most useful thing yet. It is the perfect size for emergency repair work.

A 'paid' stamp, for the odd student who pays you in cash.

Lots of colourful paper! (I am South African, and that is the correct way to spell 'colour'! Just saying.)

Awesome musical and educational posters.

My trusty 'Circle of Fifths' sheets. Every student MUST get one of these.

Syllabus books.

Whiteboard markers

Sellotape, maybe?

Awesome record coasters for all the yummy tea you will drink. (And, of course, water.)

Manuscript books.

Pegs, pegs and more pegs. If ever you or your students need to perform outside!

Awesome stickers! You will be amazed at how stickers can be a great motivation for students.

I would be a terrible person if I did not have tea to get me through the day. This mug is great for when I'm traveling to a school or if I have to walk quite far from the staff kitchen to my classroom.

Here's another super cute mug. Perfect for a woodwind teacher! I love it :-)

And.....of course every teacher needs lots and lots of

(please note that this is not my own image, but it could have been!)

Or coffee, if you prefer.

Not my image, but pretty!

Stationery LOVE!!!! 1.

When I was at school new stationery promised the beginning of a new year. It meant BACK TO SCHOOL, which was no particular draw-card. So pens and pencils were just necessary and not very exciting. Funny enough (as I get older) over the last few years, my love for stationery has grown so much. I'm not sure if it's because of all the gorgeous new shops and products that are on sale, or the fact that I can rationalize buying something that I 'need' over other things that I just want!? And as a teacher of any subject stationery is a necessity. It's actually quite strange considering technology seems to be taking over the world (but that's a discussion for another time).

Regardless of what musical instrument you learn, if you are learning to read music, you will at some point need to write something down. So what basic stationery does any music student need? I am going to tell you, and (or course) there are pictures to accompany my little list.

A good pencil. HB's are my personal fav.

If you are able to use a clutch pencil and not keep breaking the nib, like I always do, then good for you! You don't need a sharpener!

An eraser.

A sharpener.

A flip-file. Your teacher may give you extra notes, and scales, so this is always good to have. (Note the subtle marketing here!?)

A notebook. Even if you aren't super good at checking this 'homework diary', it can be so helpful to track your lessons and your progress.

A music book. I call this a manuscript book. It has music ledger lines on each page, great for theory learning and even composing if you are that way inclined.

I take all of the above and stick them in a large poly-envelope, which has enough space for you to put your music tutor book in as well.

I sell these little packs for R65. So convenient for my students.

Please note that these are just the basic essentials. I have so much more exciting stationery, which I plan to show you in the next post.

Happy New Year and Welcome 2015

So last year was a great one, but one where I really was testing the waters to see how my business would take to this world. Would I be able to get enough work to sustain me and if so, how long would it take? These were the big questions that I had. For those of you who haven't read any of my previous posts, I stopped working a full-time music teaching job at the end of last 2013, in pursuit of starting my own music school.

While I have written posts documenting and reflecting during this year, I feel that the beginning of a new year is always a turn of the next page and so while we ponder and plan what is next, we have to review how the previous year went. 

This is my analysis now that the year is officially complete:

Was it successful or not? (Do I regret quitting my job?)

While I do miss the steady income and the peace of mind that my salary comes in during the school holidays, for the first year, having 10 committed private students is a success story in my books. I don't regret quitting my job because I am happier in what I am doing now. I have made enough money to get me through the year, and while it hasn't been easy, my husband and I believe that it can only get better from now on.

Did it grow enough, or did it exceed my expectations?

It was my dream to have 21 students by the end of the year, but in all honesty, I am satisfied to end the year with a good 10. I already have interest for 2015, so I am happy to continue to grow the numbers steadily. It's important not to grow too quickly, I believe. As a teacher I am constantly giving my energy to others all day, but when I am not teaching I need to make sure that I am prepping lessons, sending the correct invoices, tracking payments, replying to emails and of course making sure that I am ready for my students to arrive (house-keeping becomes a HUGE priority when you have students in your home every day). I found that at the beginning of the third term I suddenly had a flood of interest. I went from having 6 students to 12, and found the sudden jump made me a little frazzled. Remember that I do still have a part time job of 15 students and I was temping at another school during that time.

What would I change or do differently next year?

Somebody once told me that if you are not growing and improving your business, it is going to start getting worse because there is no such thing as a stagnant business. This has rung true for me for many years and so, while I am incredibly happy with the way things have gone this year, it is important that I continually aim to improve my teaching methods and techniques, but also that I continually create a place where students feel that they are getting what THEY want out of the lessons. 

Why are you teaching part-time if you are trying to grow your business?

The most obvious reason for this is that I only had two private students at the beginning of the year and the part-time job promised an income every month. Most of my private students are either working people or school-going. This means that their lessons are usually after school or average working hours. So to maximize my teaching time, teaching at a school during the school hours just makes sense. It doesn't pay as well, but it is better than sitting on my butt all day and not earning during this time. With that being said, I do have some adult students who work flexi-hours and are able to come for lessons in the mornings. This is why it is so nice to not have a full week of school teaching as I am still able to accommodate these students.

What plans do you have for you music school?

I have long term goals for the school, but for this year I plan to do more concerts and enter my students for international examinations and local eisteddfods. At the end of 2014, we did an end-of-year-concert. It was a collaboration with a colleague. My students enjoyed themselves so much that we have decided to also put on a mid-year concert as well as the end-of-year-one. But we might throw in a few more if we can.

Do you consider yourself a business woman?
Well at college I did a semester business course, but they touched on such a little about running a business. I have learnt more about business this year from one of my students who is a businessman. Sometimes reading and learning is not the same as doing it and so I guess you learn as you go. I have certainly made mistakes, but it is getting better. The actual running of the business side is one of the biggest things that I aim to improve. When you think of running your own music school you think that most of your time that you dedicate to your business will be spent teaching, but I spend a lot of time researching and advertising and learning. I am also learning to not be afraid to charge or actually collecting monies. It's so scary to think that I could be overcharging, especially because most public schools charge far less for lessons, but then I have to remind myself that firstly school music lessons are subsidised by the schools and that the whole point of why I am specialised is that I offer something that is very unique in my area. I'm getting better at being on top of invoicing and learning which systems work better. I'm learning that people value what I offer and it isn't just my qualifications that makes me valuable!

Boundaries in business
It seems that it is a trend when running your own business, especially one from home, that it can be hard to separate work and home life. So it is important to remember that you need to run your business and not let it run you! Keeping business hours is important, especially with regards to admin. Obviously being a private teacher you want to be accessible to your students but late night Watsapp messages and emails can wait until the next morning. I'm still learning how to do this.

At the same time it is important to stay focused on YOUR business. So many people are doing wonderful things in the music industry and in the bloggers world that I admit I sometimes get a bad case of FOMO. The last few weeks I have been trying to put systems in place where I can make sure I am more productive by focusing on what MY business has to offer rather than comparing myself to others. It's hard because you can feel like you are trying to bury your head in the sand, but I know that is not strictly true and it will pay off.

All good wishes to everyone for the New Year. Live each day to it's fullest and may it be one that brings you and your family such great peace and joy!

Robyn

Is it really necessary for a music student to have a homework diary?

When I first started teaching I thought that my students having a homework diary was a waste of time. Firstly I thought that it wasted my time because most students don't consult these diary's and then if I have written in them it would be pointless. I also felt that some of the lesson was wasted on writing in it, and if it wasn't going to be used anyway, this was also a waste of paper. My students either asked me to write on their music or they would 'just remember' what they would have to do. I was happy with this, and felt that I could usually remember what my students were doing as well.

 

When I started teaching full-time, each student was given a music diary and the school insisted  that we write in it. Over the time I was at that school I realised that it was really is a useful tool. Firstly, I not only had a lot more individual students, I was teaching a lot of other music classes and bands and it became nearly impossible to remember what every student was doing. As soon as I was able to consult their diary, I was able to remember what that student was doing and the lessons were therefore more productive.

 

I later realised that it also became a great record book as to when the students were having lessons as well as how they had progressed over the year. It was good for the student as well as myself, and it was proof to any potentially concerned parent that things were actually happening in the lessons (not that this was a problem, but it could potentially be in a school situation).

 

While I'm not as strict about this with my private students, I certainly recommend have a music homework diary. Even if it is just for your records. I don't always write in them myself. It depends on the students, sometimes they like to be the one to write in it, but either way, it is really helpful.

What motivates you?

The reason that I have not written a new post in a while is because I have been questioning my motivation for writing this blog. The biggest issue I have had with myself is that the reason I started this blog, has not been what has been motivating me to write posts. In fact many of my posts have had nothing really to do with the nature of this blog.

So while rethinking this blog, I decided to take a bit of a break and come up with reasons I feel that this blog should continue and give you an idea of the kind of future posts that you can expect on this blog.

1. To encourage other musicians and budding musicians
2. To teach 'non-musos' something about music and the industry
3. To learn about other musicians 
4. To learn about different styles of music
5. To learn more about what is happening in Cape Town
6. To share about instruments
7. To help people find out if music is for them or their child
8. To discover how music can help a person develop their brain
9. To share my experiences as a teacher and small-business owner
10. To interact with other musicians and enthusiasts

I feel that if I make sure my posts are in line with at least one of these points, then it will be more valuable to others and more meaningful to me. I want to grow my knowledge and share with others as I do that.

I want to me more consistent with posting regularly. I find that this is my biggest downfall when it comes to blogging. I hope that my list will be the motivation that I need to keep me from 'going astray' and off these topics.

Since I'm not always very good at sticking to long term goals, I have decided to give this new approach a month.

If I can be consistent for a month, I will then attempt a second month. If I can't, I may have to try another strategy.

Well, hears to October, a good time to start a fresh.

Hope that it is a lovely month for you.

Robyn

How is business? An update.

It's only May and so much has happened, so far, this year. I feel blessed beyond belief at how I have managed to get extra work here and there that has helped us make it through each month. So how is my music school going? Well, I wouldn't say that business is booming, but I have 6 committed students so far and I absolutely love teaching each of them. I am doing a lot of 'experimenting' with advertising, as I do want the business to grow. In the meantime, I have been able to make the room look a bit more like a teaching room with a music white-board. The board makes the room feel bigger, which I think is great. 

While I do want to get more students, I also still want my students to feel that they are getting the best lessons possible and so I have to make sure that I do not over-commit to other work or in other areas of my life. I don't want to seem tired or distracted. With that being said, however the school where I work at part-time has offered me a bit more work for next term. I can't say what it is yet, but I am super excited. Also, with there being so many holidays in April and with examinations coming up, I realise that any extra income makes a huge difference.

So, do I have any regrets so far about going freelance? Not at all! While I certainly miss my students and working with such lovely people (especially two very special friends I made while there), nothing can make up for the peace that I have in my life now. I go to bed every night and wake up every morning without anxiety. And I sleep really well! I don't have this ever-present sense that there is something that needs to be done, or worse that there is something that I did not do correctly. Of course there are still things in my life, my school teaching and my business that need to be done, but I feel like I'm more in control of my life. I feel like I can do things and then tick them off and then relax. It really has made me so much happier, like an elephant of a weight has been lifted off me and I have bounced back into being human again and not just coping. Now I know this might sound ever so dramatic, but I really believe that you have to be a special kind of person to work full-time. Regardless of what school it is at which you are working. There is no perfect job, but I think in life, you have to weigh up what it is that you and your family need or want. One thing that I really want to live by is words from one of Switchfoot's songs "I want to thrive, not just survive". This is such a beautiful mantra, and yet it sparked much turmoil in me when I was still debating whether or not to go on my own. I think because there are so many people out there who have nothing and that I should be grateful for having a good job, and good opportunities. But the more I seeked council, prayed and debated what to do, the more unhappy I was in what I was doing and the bigger my desire grew to do other things. I came to realise that in this state, I was useless to anyone. 

My one friend told me that God puts dreams on our hearts and that it can then only be a good thing to pursue them. So I prayed and prayed that if my desire was purely selfish, then it would go away, but it grew. Now I look back and I am so pleased for all the amazing people in my life who have supported me in this decision. I feel that I am thriving because I am able to connect with people again and that is the biggest blessing ever. I have truly amazing people in my life, and it feels so good to be able to hang out with them and appreciate them.

Being forced to work part-time at a school and supplement our income has been incredibly rewarding. I have met so many people. I think it has also been very healthy for me to get out of the house (since my private lessons are held in our home). I also filled in at the school for a full-time teacher, which was really nice because I was able to get to meet more of the staff.

I have joined the UCT Wind Ensemble and Windworx. Both have allowed me to be challenged and stretched but the best thing is that I am loving playing again.

I have also done some temp teaching at Pinelands North Primary School, which is the most delightful school ever. I have never felt so welcome at a school in such a short space of time. The students are lovely there and the school is so friendly.

I did an in-house commercial shoot with Old Mutual, which was quite an interesting experience and I played at a wedding in beautiful Stellenbosch.

My husband and I have been able to go to Betty's Bay over weekends without having to worry about me marking papers or having to be at rehearsal.

I feel like I am just rambling on now, but all-in-all things have been going well. I am happy with the way things are now and I am excited for things to come.

Dear future adult student

Dear future adult student

I have found that adult students can occasionally be the worst kind. Why? Well, when parents send their children for private lessons they are reliable. They get their children to lessons on time, the children usually practise, are enthusiastic and want to be at the lessons. The parents pay on  time (at the beginning of each month) and mostly let you know in advance if their kid is going to miss a lesson. In short, the parents are organised. Perhaps it's because they believe in the system (one-on-one private lesson's, where your child get's undivided attention by a music specialist) or they really value their child's education or they respect that you are running a professional business and act accordingly or all of the above. Either way I, personally, have only had good experiences with children as private students.

Unfortunately, (and this is not all my adult students) but the general feel is that adult students have a very different outlook. Please note that I am not venting here, just trying to put things straight. Somehow, I have discovered, adults feel that the same 'rules' don't apply to them. When I was a student I used to teach privately too, but I was very relaxed about how I conducted my business. Now that I reply on this business as my livelihood (and I have my degree and work experience), I have to protect myself in the business sense. So I ask all my students to sign a contract. In this contract it clearly states that you need to commit to a term of lessons and that you need to pay for lessons on or before your first lesson of every month. I am upfront about how much I charge (it's even on my website) and I give my students the choice of how long they want each lesson (I offer three different options). I don't charge for the first 'lesson/meeting' so that we can discuss everything that the lessons will entail, they can ask any questions and they have the option of taking home the contract to brew on it. There is no pressure. But once a person has signed the form, I assume that they have at least skim-read it and gauged and idea of how things work.

So, if you are an adult, have never played an instrument, or it has been too long and you really want to start again, here are some things to think about before you call up a teacher.

• Learning an instrument takes time. You can’t ‘fast-track’ learning an instrument unless you can already play another one and you can read music already. But even then, you still need to put in the time and effort (this means regular lessons and practice/play).
• Your goal is usually far more advanced than you are (hopefully, at least) but this means you need to be patient in getting there.
• The above comment also means that you need to listen to the guidance of your teacher/tutor. Sure, do more than what is asked of you. No teacher will be upset about that! But don't skip out the important things, like long notes and tonguing exercises for wind players.
• Music lessons are a bit like having a personal trainer, you get individual attention, but if you don't keep it up, you won't get fitter.
• Music lessons are a bit like buying a dvd contract in that you have to pay up front before taking home a dvd. 
• Music lessons cannot be on a 'pay-as-you-go' basis. This is because teacher's rely on teaching as an income. If you have not paid in advance and then don't pitch up at the lesson, the teacher looses out on your lesson as well as any other potential student that they could have taught during that time. Most teacher's want the student to succeed and are quite understanding if the occasional 'something' comes up. If you let them know in advance they usually allow you to move it to another day.
• Although music requires a lot of discipline, the pay-off is worth it, there is nothing more rewarding that achieving your goals, and it can be a lot of fun. Alternately that is the idea isn't?

The Music World

My Brother's Beauty

Last weekend I went to Durban to spend time with my brother, who is a horse veterinarian. I discovered that almost the whole area of where he stays and works is surrounded by horses. Now, you must understand that while my brother grew up riding horses and doing first-aid (aka stitching people up) I grew up dancing every day and playing music. In other words, I know very little about horses. Having a terrible allergic reaction while being around horses once as a child did little for my lack of desire to ride one. 

Anyway, it was great watching my brother bandage a horse's leg, see him take his horse to her first training 'show', meet other people who share his affection for horses and not have a chronic attack while being in the presence of the horses (I do have to take allergy tablets and nasal spray every day of my life, so that might have had something to do with this).

This experience reminded me of a question I often ask myself; "Am I really meant to be in the music industry?" I know that teaching is a great thing, and I love it, but I'm still not performing as much as I would like to and, in truth, I don't practise enough. So, I often think, maybe I'm not hungry enough. Maybe I only think it's what I want. Like I am obsessed with the idea, but not willing to 'man-up' and do the work. Maybe all my attempts to start my own bands were not done with enough commitment on my part? 

Then, I sometimes think that if I was 10kilos lighter and 2 heads taller I would have naturally chosen ballet as my career path. I truly loved it, and I don't think I was too bad at it either. In fact I was just getting to have my confidence up (or I started to not care what others thought of me any more) when I had to quit. Cold Turkey. Because it was starting to consume so much of my time (along with a few other things that happened in my life at that stage) and I had to choose. Well, I was already studying music so that was the obvious choice. But I chose it. Nobody else. My parents have always supported me, but it was wholly my decision. While I have missed dancing and have gone for a few odd classes over the years, I have since never felt particularly lead to go back and take it up as a career.

Then, while in Durban, I observed the 'horse world' and realised that I never had a desire to ride horses like brother did, or be a vet. At one stage I thought I wanted to study medicine, but after doing my job-shadowing, I realised that was not for me either.

Put no one pushed me through my degree, no one 'made me do it'. My friends and family supported me, but no one said 'this is what you must do'. There must be a reason that I have been teaching music since my 3rd year at college and have had teaching jobs ever since. I have loved learning as I teach. I love getting to meet different personalities and understanding how they learn. I love seeing a students face when 'the penny has dropped'. I treasure those light-bulb moments. 

And so after all of this brain-hurting thinking, toing and froing, I realised that I am exactly where I need to be. I have never been happier in my job situation than I am now, and it has only been just over 3 months. I've got the rest of my life to keep pursuing my dreams. And helping others do the same in the process is quite fulfilling. 

I'm Putting my foot down!

When starting out your own business it can be hard to stick to your guns. You may feel that you have to do everything to get work, and often times you do have to make sacrifices. But are these ones that you are going to be able to live with long term? And I mean, not that it's a stepping stone and you might regret doing it, but is it going to set a president for the way you are going to run your business?

So currently I am teaching from home. I have a home studio. But I want to grow it into something much bigger in the future. Not because I want to earn more, (which of course would always be nice) but because 'I have a dream'. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a home studio, or tutoring from home (loads of my friends do it), I want to set my studio with the potential to grow it and move into a separate venue.  This entails much more than I'm going to discuss now, but I realise that the things I do now will hugely affect how I run my business in the future.

So to be more specific, I have decided not to teach from students homes. My one student is 9 and every weeks asks me to come to her house to teach her. I also get people who regularly query if the lessons will be at their home. These are a few reasons why I have chosen not to do so.

1. I have a home studio, it is all set up with (almost) everything I need.

2. I do not want to spend my time driving abound from place to place all day. (This is actually one of the reasons I decided to open up my own studio)

3. It's not just the money, it's the time. So even if you are being paid petrol money, are you being paid for your time to get from one place to the next?

4. When I open up my dream studio, I will not be offering lessons at my students homes, so why do it now.

5. I want this to be a business, not a coffee date. One of my teachers once advised me against it and this is why: She said that you end up being offered coffee (which sounds great), but then also offered to watch a video of your student's last recital, then a baby starts crying in the other room, you have to help cook supper and it can just spiral out of control. So, as a beginner teacher (in my youth lol) I decided I would try it with one student. I would put what my teacher had said to the test. After all, surely it can't be that bad!? And as sure as Bob, it was just as she had said. It was not a 'bad' experience, but certainly not conducive to running a business. And perhaps it also depends on your circumstance/situation, but my experience was just as my teacher had explained. Since there was no dedicated room to give the lessons, they started out in the lounge. The mom would 'pop-in' every now and then to ask something. I would be asked to watch a concert on dad's cam-cord, which is all very well if you haven't got somewhere else to be. And then there was building that started happening. And the whole house was in dust and the lessons were in a cramped bedroom, which is not ideal. So that was that. I decided from then, that I would never do it again.

I know that some of my friends have arrangements where they teach from their students homes. I'd love to hear from people how they make it work. What is your opinion on this matter?