This blog originally was more for piano teachers than for students and parents. Today I think I’ll hit a topic more for teachers.
This year I’m chairing 2 different festivals and they both require copious amounts of paperwork. Teachers send in their teacher information, check, registrations forms and certificates. The state organizations send me forms, forms and more forms to fill out and certificates. We are starting to talk a paper avalanche here. Now the good thing is that I don’t mind paperwork. I like organizing and creating schedules and making processes more efficient.
What I don’t like is illegible handwriting and disorganized lists. What can you do to help your festival chair and make the job a little easier? First up is to write legibly. If that is an issue or if English isn’t your first language, find a computer and go to town with some typing. I can always transfer the information to an official form if need be. However, if I can’t read your writing, a number of problems could occur. Your student’s name could be spelled incorrectly and that could affect any number of thing. I could misunderstand what piece they are playing. That would be a serious disaster. I might not be able to read your phone number or email address to get in touch with you to correct the above listed issues. So write neatly or type. It saves a lot of time on my part.
Now, if you are reading this blog, you probably have email Surprisingly enough, there are quite a few teachers who don’t. If you know your teacher doesn’t email. Offer to be an ambassador for them. There are items that I email to most teachers and thereby save time and money. You get your playing times sooner and paperwork without creases.
Keep your paperwork organized. If you are entering students in a festival with categories, when you starting filling out the paperwork, keep the students grouped together. Groups A and B shouldn’t be intermingled. That is just a problem waiting to happen. As careful as organizers try to be, accidents happen sometimes. Help keep things working smoothly by keeping your paperwork as organized as possible.
These are just a few ideas to help your festival organizers out. These events are a lot of work and it takes volunteers to keep them running. Be nice to the volunteers!