One of my students booked a half an hour trial lesson and got on really well, so she went ahead and booked a package of hour long lessons. But on the first hour long lesson she started getting really tired after about half an hour. I'm wondering what is the best way to handle this. Whether it is to terminate the package and allow her to rebook a package of half hour sessions, or if I do this whether it will look bad on my record that I have a terminated package. I can give her half hour lessons and book other lessons outside the italki system so that she gets the amount of time she has paid for. What would other people do in this circumstance?
If 30 minute lessons are better suited to the student's needs and wants then go with that. It depends on the student; young students are not usually good for more than 30 minutes (8 to about 14 or 15 years old). The time of the lesson is also an important factor; too late at night is not a good lesson. Don't cancel the package; experiment and communicate with the student. Fashion each lesson to fit the needs of the student. Change the time of the lessons if you need to. Don't worry about your rating on italki, just do your best and give the best lessons that you can. The students here are usually great and are willing to work with teachers to get the best of all possibilities. Find out what the student needs and wants and make sure the student knows what you can do and what you can't do (for example, we can't give a lesson when it's our time to sleep). The most important thing is to communicate with the student. Good luck!
If the student is happy, just arrange with her to split the sessions - no need to record this on italki as it makes no difference to them as they are getting the same commission. Quite often students will book sessions on italki just as a method of sending the money, with us often negotiating on more mutually convenient times and durations. Most importantly: ask your student what she's happy with and go with that!. Or, alternatively, just wake her up ;)
