Dans

[ninjanurse]

I agree that students should be exposed to teaching and I provide numerous opportunities for this throughout their training. Most students can be led down the path to a point...then it must be their passion for teaching that keeps them going.

[bushido_man96]

I agree that students should be exposed to teaching and I provide numerous opportunities for this throughout their training. Most students can be led down the path to a point...then it must be their passion for teaching that keeps them going.

I agree. Well said.

[Sensei Rick]

I'd like to add to what ninja nurse is saying. (love your handle BTW)

And I'll admit that I have read this on another site, which one escapes me at the moment, but it definitely applies.

You do not learn how to teach by being a student. IE getting a black belt. Many of you have gone to school, at least high school, if not college too. If you graduate from high school, does that qualify you to be a high school teacher? No, it certainly does not. And...... teaching, or the act of running a class does not qualify you either.

To teach you must be trained as a teacher, for teaching and doing martial arts a very different skills. If your teacher just throws you in a class and has you teaching away without watching you and giving you feedback on your teaching then you are not learning teach. And conversely, if you are an instructor, and you do not babysit your assistants, and only use them to give you free time, then YOu are not using them effectively or properly training them too teach.

[bushido_man96]

If your teacher just throws you in a class and has you teaching away without watching you and giving you feedback on your teaching then you are not learning teach.

I pretty much agree with you, Rick. Reading the quote above, I would say that they are learning to teach, but they are definitely learning the hard way, and a way that can lead burnout and ineffective results rather quickly.

[Rateh]

I agree that teaching DEFINITLY should be taught. I wasn't taught and I feel so bad for the first year of students that I had. I've been teaching the students coming up through the ranks how to teach, to hopefully not make them learn the hard way. And also because I think it's so wrong for an instructor to put someone in charge of a group or class without teaching them HOW to lead that group or class. I don't think it matters what rank an instructor is, so long as they know the details of there art, and can properly teach it in a way thats best for the students.

[Sensei Rick]

Yeah, and don't even consider this UNTIL the student is a BB...... how can you expect a kyu rank to understand technique enough to teach it.

[ninjanurse]

Yeah, and don't even consider this UNTIL the student is a BB...... how can you expect a kyu rank to understand technique enough to teach it.

Here I think that it depends upon the student...and the tasks given him/her to teach. I have come across some that have an uncanny knack for teaching long before reaching Black Belt and I make sure I encourage their talent and facilitate their growth as a martial arts instructor as soon as possible. I would never, however, put a kyu rank in charge of a class.

[Rateh]

Yeah, and don't even consider this UNTIL the student is a BB...... how can you expect a kyu rank to understand technique enough to teach it.

Prior to earning my black belt I was in charge of beginner kids classes. This was students who had attended anywhere from their first day to 6 months. I was perfectly capable of teaching the beginner techniques correctly. I have an eye for details that helped me in my own training and in training others. So I disagree that kyu ranks cannot understand technique well enough to teach it

[Sensei Rick]

I agree that teaching DEFINITLY should be taught. I wasn't taught and I feel so bad for the first year of students that I had.

it's so wrong for an instructor to put someone in charge of a group or class without teaching them HOW to lead that group or class. .

Rateh, I like what this poster said about that. They said that they feel bad for the students. It's the students that suffer.

Let's say that you as a kyu rank do understand the technique, what about the feedback. What about giving feedback to student in a effective matter. what about coaching a student thru their goals. what about identifying a students goals and tailoring your feedback to fit their wants and desires. Understanding technique is only half the battle.

and I'll just repeat myself here.

You do not learn how to teach by being a student. IE getting a black belt. Many of you have gone to school, at least high school, if not college too. If you graduate from high school, does that qualify you to be a high school teacher? No, it certainly does not. And...... teaching, or the act of running a class does not qualify you either.

Putting anyone in charge of the class besides a chief instructor, even for white belts is a disservice to the students and not the best choice for the instructor. as a customer of a karate club, students should demand more for their money than having a 7th kyu teach them their 10kyu techniques. I wouldn't let a 4th grader be in charge of my sons kindergarten class, and neither would you.

And if any of you reading this post are in a club where this type of training is done I would seriously consider another place to train.

[bushido_man96]

Yeah, and don't even consider this UNTIL the student is a BB...... how can you expect a kyu rank to understand technique enough to teach it.

Here I think that it depends upon the student...and the tasks given him/her to teach. I have come across some that have an uncanny knack for teaching long before reaching Black Belt and I make sure I encourage their talent and facilitate their growth as a martial arts instructor as soon as possible. I would never, however, put a kyu rank in charge of a class.

I agree with you here. I do agree that the student should not be leading his own class, though. However, if you recognize that a student has some teaching talent, then beginning to work and harness it will be a good thing. Sometimes, Martial Artists get too caught up in rank, and will not help to bring something good along like this just because "they aren't a black belt yet."