Close Your Wallet: Free Lessons

Here's a little Q&A I did with myself to help explain why I offer free-and-only-free lessons!

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Q: FREE lessons? Haven't you heard about money?

A: Sadly, I've heard about money. I think capitalism is stupid and refuse to participate in it whenever possible.

Q: Okay, but what about other teachers with whom you're competing? Won't this take money out of their pockets?

A: Likely not. Every teacher is different and has something unique to offer their students. Further, I detest competition, especially between my colleagues for something as essential as our daily bread. I'm not poaching students, I'm simply filling a niche in our educational system with a very specific set of skills.

Q: ...hang on, are you just not that good or something?

A: Look, am I Monica Ellis? No, but I want to be like her when I grow up.

Am I good enough to teach you a thing or two? Yes. Yes, I am.

Would it be worth money? If you have to look at it that way, then absolutely!

We tend to assign value to things based on the numbers following a dollar sign, and not only does that limit one's view of the world, it perpetuates the stranglehold that capitalism has on everything from our healthcare (our enjoyment of life) to our enjoyment of the arts.

Not in my studio, though.

(Also, what does "good" even mean and who gets to decide that? Again, this is no home to value judgments of any kind. More on this in another post at another time.)

Q: What do you do for money then?

A: I'm a cook and baker for a small restaurant and my income is further supplemented through additional freelance music work.

Q: Why not at least offer a sliding scale or income-based lessons?

A: A few reasons in no particular order:

• Your finances are not my business and I'm not the student loan people

• Money shouldn't prohibit anyone from experiencing a quality arts education or from becoming a lifelong learner and lover of art

• I believe that things like healthcare and education are inalienable human rights and should be free and readily accessible to all human beings

• The only way out of an oppressive society and into one of humanization and liberation is to challenge the status quo

• Money can't buy me love

• I don't believe in charity

Q: Humanization and charity and what now?

A: Inspired by a recent talk given by the amazing Midori Samson, I began reading Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968) by Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is an approach toward a more humanized (i.e. made human) and liberated society through education as the practice of freedom. It's a must-read, so head to your local library now (or dig deep to find free versions online)!

Essentially, Freire states that the ability to understand socio-political and economic contradictions and to take action against them is inhibited by a fear of freedom on the part of the oppressed. This understanding is termed conscientizacao and it enables one to question the status quo, something which may be discomforting.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm here to challenge the status quo where it fails to meet the needs of humanization, and doing so enables me to be a more well-rounded educator who works with students to find their most authentic voice.

Finally, this is not "charity." That word makes me gag and then tear up a bit because, were society functioning in a way that met the needs of our species and life on Earth at the present moment, we wouldn't need "charity." Freire says it better than I do:

"Only power that springs from the weakness of the oppressed will be sufficiently strong to free both. Any attempt to "soften" the power of the oppressor in deference to the weakness of the oppressed almost always manifests itself in the form of false generosity; indeed, the attempt never goes beyond this. In order to have the continued opportunity to express their "generosity," the oppressors must perpetuate injustice as well. An unjust social order is the permanent fount of this "generosity," which is nourished by death, despair, and poverty. That is why the dispensers of false generosity become desperate at the slightest threat to its source" (Freire 44).

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Thanks for reading, and tune in next week for my new series, "Nicole Makes Mistakes" where I'll be filming myself, you guessed it, making mistakes and *sometimes* learning from them! Teachable moments all around!

Have a great weekend, y'all.