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Episode 252: Cheers to Jury Duty for Piano Teachers

Well, HELLO there, my teacher friends!  What a couple of weeks it has been.  I don’t know about you but my spring break looked ENTIRELY different than planned… I always take two weeks off of lessons for spring break (highly recommended, by the way!) but I ended up spending the first of those weeks in the hospital with my mom who lives out of town, which turned into canceling my trip to the MTNA Conference in Chicago… sigh. It’s just been layers of sadness over here… which also explains why I’ve been absent from your podcast feed the last two weeks. Life is hard sometimes, friends. It’s just been a time.

BUT: I’m thrilled to be back with you today, bringing you a conversation I’ve been holding onto for quite some time.  I’ll share more in a moment, but for now, let me say thanks for listening to episode 253… it’s a good one!  Let’s get on with the show….

I’m not how legal systems work in other countries, but here in the U.S. adults can – and will – occasionally be called to serve jury duty in our local court systems. Jury duty is one of those rare unifiers… none of us want to find that envelope in our mailbox. It’s inconvenient, it costs us time and money, it’s unpleasant… the list of reasons why people don’t like jury duty can go on for quite some time.

And yet. I got seated on my first jury 10 years ago and am pretty adamant that we should serve, when called, with an open and willing heart. I know… so Pollyanna of me. But hear me out…

Like it or not, our justice system here in the states hangs on juries. We need thoughtful, intelligent people who can think critically to serve on those juries. And – you know I feel this – as a profession, we check ALL those boxes.  Music teachers bring ALL the most important character traits to that jury box.

But don’t just take my word for it; today I’m sharing a conversation about jury duty that I recorded months ago with the oh-so-wise Jennifer Foxx of Music Educator Resources.  In case you’re wondering why I’ve been sitting on this conversation for MONTHS, well… funny story…

After Jennifer and I recorded this conversation, I received a questionnaire in the mail for… you guessed it… jury duty.  It had been a decade since I was last summoned, and – lo and behold – I ended up receiving another summons for Thursday of last week. So: you’ll hear about my first experience with jury duty in this conversation with Jennifer and if you stick around to the end, I’ll share how my experience went LAST week. Are you ready?  Let’s do this thing.  I give you my conversation with the fabulous Jennifer Foxx, friend to all and creator of Music Educator Resources.

(Conversation transcript unavailable at this time)

Okay: you’ve waited patiently, so I’ll tell you this:  Last week, I reported to the Justice Center on Thursday morning. They told us the trial we were being seated for would only last 1 or 2 days, which was a welcome relief. We waited for about 45 minutes to begin jury selection and… as so often happens, the judge came in, told us he’d declared a mistrial, and we all got to go home. The defendant failed to appear in court that day. The case was a level 6 felony, with three charges for driving under the influence, neglect of a dependent, and fleeing police. Pretty cut and dry; our primary role was to confirm the defendant’s identity… but it’s hard to confirm someone’s identity when they don’t show up to court. Hence the mistrial, and now I’m out of the jury pool for at least 2 more years.

Just to recap today’s conversation, the best ways to deal with unexpected commitments like Jury Duty include the following:

• Incorporating flex weeks, which are weeks you don’t plan to teach, but can dip into if you absolutely must. For me, I take off the week of Thanksgiving, three weeks for winter break, two weeks for spring break, and I’m off most of May. I guard that time with my life, but if I need to incorporate some lessons in those weeks, it’s a pretty easy way to go.
• Utilize GROUP CLASSES when possible. It’s much easier to plan a couple of bonus performance classes than it is to make up an entire roster of private lessons. If you want ideas for group activities, check out my Bonus Conversation with Jennifer in the Patreon Community.
• Send recorded lesson videos, rather than making everything up live. I’m sharing a helpful blog post by Jennifer in today’s shownotes that will tell you all about it.
• Last but not least – we didn’t mention this in our conversation – but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to put a Jury Duty clause in your studio policy. What if you simply make a note in your studio policy that says, “Teacher absences due to serving Jury Duty will not be credited”. I know, it’s a bit bold, but it’s so rare and so beyond your control, it doesn’t sound like a crazy idea to me.

If you’re interested in more details on how to deal with unplanned absences like jury duty, check out the links in today’s shownotes as well as my bonus conversation with Jennifer, where we talk ALL about those pre-recorded video lessons, group lesson games, and more.

Thanks again for listening, friends!  Onward and upward we go!