Tuesday, 〜 Saturday. (English)
The target class size is 8-12 students. This applies for both English and French classes. Please note that, for now, 12 is the maximum number of students/class. (non-negotiable)
With a maximum of 12 students/class, there are only 120 seats available at any given point in time. Once 120 seats are filled, then prospective students must wait until the next term to begin their studies.
All class times are 2.5 hours in length. One hour is never long enough. My trumpet lessons with professional musicians are always in 2 hour blocks or longer. My tennis lessons are also in 2 hour blocks. When I work on my various areas of focus, I most often work in 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, or 4 hour blocks of time. There are numerous reasons for doing this. It takes the same amount of time to set up and take down, whether one works for 30 minutes or 4 hours on any given focus area. Considering the facts that students often have to commute long distances and that commuting costs time, money, and takes energy; I want students to get the most out of their time when they come to school. Long, focused, blocks of time are best. This results in a higher learning curve as it allows for more time present in a ‘state of flow’. I believe that schools teaching adults in blocks of time that are ridiculously short are not serious about the well being of their students. They are likely in the business of making money, first. Somewhere down the line, perhaps some consideration is given to learning, education, instruction, and effective time management from a teacher/student perspective versus from only a business perspective. ※There are 2 short breaks in class, after each hour of class time, lasting 5-8 minutes each time. (depending on how tired the students are) An optional ‘quick stretch break’ also takes place during this time.
Twice a month, a 2.5 hour block of time is selected for an open forum discussion on various selected topics. This time is flexible, because I ask students in advance about their preferred time.
This open forum discussion is very philosophical in nature, as we discuss (in English, naturally) many subject matters and current events. Students might also be asked to make a book presentation, thereby resulting in a question and answer format.
We also have many round table like discussions during this open forum, with the teacher guiding and moderating.