When I was in the 6th grade, I began training at a local Taekwondo school. I quickly escalated my involvement in the school, and became part of the very tight-knit group of instructors. Throughout my 5 year teaching career in Taekwondo, many instructors joined and quit, though we usually had a team of 4 or 5 instructors and 150-175 students to teach.
The important strengths for running a martial arts school are talent and charisma. We were chosen to be instructors based on a high level of knowledge and skill, and a strong motivation to push the school forward. Our similar backgrounds and goals led to amazing group synergy. Two exciting teenage instructors could easily captivate 40+ students under 6 years old, a daunting task. We all shared the tasks of teaching our students as well as optimizing the curriculum. Every member of the team was expected to actively contribute physically and creatively to the program. We used 4 different curricula in my 5 years, constantly developing new “teaching technologies” to optimize instruction.
Our interactions were fairly standard. As instructors (and role models) we were all expected to conform to strict behavioral codes and treat others with the utmost respect. Primarily, our interactions consisted of teaching classes together. By actively working together in a fast-paced, exciting environment, our group developed very strong relationships that translated to incredible synergy during work. There was simply no free time, members simply couldn't not contribute. This led to equal footing within the group for each member, aiding our group maintenance. As the only employees of a service-based business, our group maintenance was incredibly important. It was literally our job to not only get along, but be charismatic best friends. Luckily our similar backgrounds and interests (especially in Taekwondo) led to fast-forming, lasting relationships. We all sought and received companionship, excitement, success, fun, and martial arts training from the group, leading to a very content and functional group.
Proximity never was a factor within my school, as we all had one common working location. However frequent tournaments were held and the distributed nature of the many martial arts schools led to both fierce competitions and intense friendships between different schools. At tournaments, my instructing group would frequently meet and compare teaching styles and strategies with instruction teams from other schools. We not only helped to develop standards across our region, but also were able to create highly effective teaching programs for each of our schools through these meetings.
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It's interesting that the valued aspect of this group was your similarities with each other. I wonder if a little diversity in your way of thinking might have helped with some tasks, or not. It seems that the specialized nature of the task at hand did not need any collaboration from people who might look at it differently. I suppose the fact that conforming to the group and the behaviors makes proximity pretty important and I doubt if online Taekwondo lessons will ever be as effective.
ReplyDeleteAs an instructor I obviously want to believe my job will never be obsolete, however I definitely agree with your last statement Beth. A significant part of the process is the direct feedback we can provide the students on their performance and behavior. Their positive behavior is reinforced and they are confronted with their mistakes as to better help them learn. Feedback from the students and parents is also incredibly important as both an input and a process. This would be much more difficult to accomplish if lessons were distributed through the internet. What made my group effective was our willingness and ability to adapt our behavior both before classes, and on the fly depending on the feedback received from our students.
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