Lesson Policies

Here are all my detailed personal lesson policies that I follow and require a student (or parent or guardian of a student) to follow when taking lessons from me. These policies are to protect you as well as me if any conflict or misunderstanding should arise in the course of our working relationship. When any student first starts lessons with me, I require them or their parents to read these lesson policies to make sure they understand and agree with them. These aren't just my preferences, they are my rules and regulations. Please read every part of these policies thoroughly before signing up for lessons- I don't want any student or parent surprised by policies they didn't read about! If you have any questions that are not addressed here or on the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section, feel free to email or call me with them.

Tyson Farmer's Lesson Policies

Payments: Lesson fees are prepaid through Paypal for each lesson or group of lessons - up to four 30 minute, 45 minute, or 60 minute lessons per month (click "Payments" above to go to my payments page). When your lesson fees are used up, please try to pay in advance before the next single lesson or group of lessons start. If you are not in a position to do this, let me know and I'll discuss alternative options with you.

What you are paying for: You are paying for the agreed upon time slot as well as my expertise and experience. I teach (and you are paying for) up to four lessons per month. If there are five lesson days that happen in any given month, I will take one of those 5 days off and notify you ahead of time which of those lesson days I will be taking off.

A more sensible cancellation and makeup lesson policy: I don't believe in punishing customers financially as a form of negative reinforcement, but in return consideration I ask you to please use your common sense and courtesy on this - I will work with you on cancellations to the best of my ability by offering makeup lessons where possible. However, realize this is how I make my living, and that my extra teaching time is valuable and limited. When I have a lot of students that are cancelling and shifting around schedules it's difficult to keep up with all the rescheduling that takes.
   So please try to give me 24 hours advance notice when you know you will be cancelling (the more notice you give me, the better). Even if it's late at night, or five minutes after your lesson was supposed to start - just email or text me! I can potentially use that time slot to schedule a possible makeup lesson with another student (sometimes that even gives me just enough time to grab lunch or prepare for my next lesson). That way I won't be twiddling my thumbs in front of the computer wondering when or if you are going to log in to the lesson, or whether you'll be a no-show to an already rescheduled makeup lesson (a particularly inconsiderate and frustrating experience for me).
   Obviously, legitimate same-day emergency cancellations will receive special consideration, but I cannot makeup more than 2 lessons in a row per month, as 3 cancelled lessons in a row is a waste of my time and your money. I know many people (and kids!) have busy lifestyles and demands to their time, so if things start getting out of hand I will discuss it with you and try to offer better alternative scheduling options. However, if constant and repeated cancellations become an issue, your spot can eventually be forfeited at my discretion to another potential student on a waiting list.
    I will, of course, give you notice for cancellations for national and commonly observed holidays and reschedule the lesson makeup with you or give you a lesson credit if that is impractical or impossible.

My cancellations: When I cancel any lessons myself (early notice or same day), I will owe you a makeup lesson for it. If it is impractical or impossible for you to do a makeup for any lessons that I cancel out on, I will give you a lesson credit that will be credited forward to the next lesson payment, or a refund if requested.

Discontinuing or taking an extended "break" from lessons: If you will be taking a break from lessons longer than three weeks, I can't hold that lesson spot for you. If a potential student wants the time slot that I'm holding for you while you are taking a break, I am basically losing money by holding that spot open and not teaching during that time! My schedule is constantly changing due to student school, work, and life changes, so check in with me before you intend to come back from break for my available times.
    If you need to discontinue lessons for any reason, please give me at least two weeks notice so I can alter my teaching style appropriately for the last few weeks so I don't get into any long term projects, leave any loose ends untied, or teach any concepts that will end up halfway explained. Also, If you give me at least three weeks notice before you plan to return, there is more of a likelihood you will get an ideal (or even your previously held) lesson time.

Communication: If available, I prefer having a mobile phone number that I can send texts to. This allows me to make schedule changes or other lesson correspondence quickly and easily (not to mention wishing you happy holidays!). Also, I will provide you with my mobile phone number so you can text me with any quick or routine rescheduling or other lesson correspondence. If a textable mobile phone number is unavailable, please specify your preference and I can notify you by call, voicemail, or email.

Others attending the lesson: Parents of younger students: you are welcome to attend the first few lessons if your son or daughter wants you there (and to make a connection with me as well), until they feel more comfortable with me as a teacher. However, The ideal learning process with any student includes the student naturally making mistakes and figuring things out for themselves when I ask questions, as well as needing some silent time to process information and figure things out on their own time, and I like to give them that room. Therefore, even if you think it might help, please refrain from commenting, correcting, or helping your son or daughter during their lesson. Most times it just distracts them and slows down their learning process in spite of your best intentions.
For students of all ages: friends, siblings, boyfriends, girlfriends and anybody else in the room are usually a distraction to a student (and me!) during an internet video lesson, so please try to ensure the lesson area is a quiet spot with relative privacy and thinking and listening space (Pets are okay if they're not distracting or hyperactive). :)