Is it important for a teacher to perform?

If you want to be able to teach beyond a certain level, yes.

You can't walk a student through a process that you haven't gone through yourself.

If you've never had the frustration of hitting a wall with a piece, or had a bad case of nerves before a performance, or had equipment go down in the middle of a set, or had to deal with lights in your eyes and still try to play - you can't help a student deal with those issues.

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Here I am onstage with the Joey Stuckey Band in Eatonton, where we recently performed at their new arts center (a very nice facility).That's Joey's Roland RS-9 keyboard I'm playing.

Having the ability to play not only classical (I accompany the Macon State Choir, and will be accompanying Rebecca Lanning, a soprano, in in recital at Georgia Southwestern in November) but also church stuff, jazz, and rock gives me a perspective on performing that I can share with my students - and gives me a flexibility to teach not only in a traditional classical vein, but also pop/rock/jazz improv, and even keyboard programming.

Why have a website?

This might sound like a stupid entry for a blog, but I had a conversation with a piano teacher who was wondering just what use a website is for a piano teacher. After all, the reasoning went, we're teaching PIANO - not technology.

That type of thinking misses the point. Technology isn't a reason to exist, or a career, or a hobby (at least in this instance) - it is a tool. A tool primarily for communication.

So here are some (admittedly quick and off-the-top-of-my-head) benefits of a website for a piano teacher:

1. Marketing - use it as an online brochure. "Hey, I exist, and I teach piano in (your locale here)." You do have to do some search engine stuff - or you can pay an outfit to do that for you (I wouldn't).... or you can just put it on your business card. The card acts as an intro, and then the site gives more detailed information.
   
2. Studio policies - put your studio policies online (mine are here. They aren't very formal, but they are functional.)
3. Take payments for piano lessons online - using Paypal. It's decently inexpensive, and CAN make it easier for your parents. Yes, there's a charge (the expense runs about 3% - but that's tax deductible if your are running your studio like a business.) See my payment page here for an example.
4. Sniff out cool online music training sites and share them with your students - ear-training, music quizzes, etc. are ALL available online.
5. Share music with your students. I have a version of Chopsticks I use that does NOT use standard notation. It's great for new kids who don't read yet.