Instructor training program

[DWx]

This is interesting who has formal training and who doesn't. We don't right now being a very young school (2.5 years) but I really want a more formal training programme in the future. At the minute I have 2 blackbelt teenagers who help out. Both are well capable of taking a full class and I started off by letting them do bigger and bigger chunks of the class and by reviewing the sessions with them and giving them feedback over time.

I like letting all students run things like the warm up and I have several younger colour belts able to do that really well now and lead the class through stretching at the end.

In our organisation you can teach class from 1st dan under the guidance of a higher up but you cannot run a school by itself until you are 4th dan and then you must pass a test to do so.

[sensei8]

We start allowing students to assist classes from Sankyu (3rd Kyu) and up, if they show any interest in teaching, yet, they will need to be approved by the CI in order to enter that training.

Not all pass that training period for one reason or another; not all can teach. SKKA refused to certify any SKKA network dojo before Sandan (3rd Dan). No one ever had to enter that teaching training program in order to open their own dojo; either they can or they can't teach, and that's the concern of that CI, and not the SKKA.

[DWx]

We start allowing students to assist classes from Sankyu (3rd Kyu) and up, if they show any interest in teaching, yet, they will need to be approved by the CI in order to enter that training.

Not all pass that training period for one reason or another; not all can teach. SKKA refused to certify any SKKA network dojo before Sandan (3rd Dan). No one ever had to enter that teaching training program in order to open their own dojo; either they can or they can't teach, and that's the concern of that CI, and not the SKKA.

To the bold above, I would argue that instructor training can make good instructors great instructors and great instructors phenomenal.

People can have a natural ability to teach but there is always room for improvement. That's why people still study educational theory and practices today, not to mention sport science methods There may be little tweaks to teaching style you can make or the way sessions are structured or even newer training methodologies.

[sensei8]

My Quote:

No one ever had to enter that teaching training program in order to open their own dojo; either they can or they can't teach, and that's the concern of that CI, and not the SKKA.

What I'm speaking about here is that the Instructor Training Program (ITP) ISN'T a prerequisite for one opening their own school.

DWx wrote:

I would argue that instructor training can make good instructors great instructors and great instructors phenomenal.

"Can" isn't "Will". The ITP also weeds out those that can't teach worth beans after all; seeing ones assumed potential is far from actual reality. The ITP is designed to do what's mentioning in the quote here, if that student has that about themselves. Not all black belts can teach, and that's an unfortunate reality, that can be hard to swallow.