Teach Teaching?
This week, I got an email from a student who is enrolled in the teacher training program. The student said she is interested in working with teenagers, bless her heart, and she asked if she could observe my class to see how it's done. (I'm not joking! This really happened.)
At first, I was completely dumbfounded. I haven't been doing this long really, and I wouldn't consider myself an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Next, I was flattered. I am embarking upon my second year of teaching in the next couple of months. I guess I might know a few things this student doesn't. But those feelings were quickly replaced by sheer and utter terror. What if I mess up in front of her? What if I set a bad example? What if she writes down everything little thing I do, and shares it with her class so they can pick it apart . . . pointing out all the things I could have done better? (I've been through teacher training. I know what it can be like.)
Ultimately, I decided not to be a wuss. I'm proud of what I do. And I know I've grown leaps and bounds as a teacher in the last year. So what if I mess up? There's value in seeing a teacher mess up when you're in teacher training, right? I know I still feel a little tinge of validation when I hear one of my senior teachers tell me to bend my foot instead of my knee. I told the student I'd love to have her! And I meant it, too . . . eventually.
I admit it was intimidating at first to have someone watching, taking up her pencil and notebook between Downward Dogs. But it was nice to have a little extra grown-up support, too. When I went to help one girl, a girl on the other side of the room could ask the teacher trainee for help. Most of all, it was an amazing reminder of how far I've come since I sheepishly entered one of my own teacher's classes as an observer for the first time. What a rewarding experience!
Comments
congrats on your progress! I would be intimidated to have someone observe as well!
Posted by: Dee | January 30, 2008 09:31 PM
Teaching is tough! Ugh!
You say you've been doing it long, how long is long?
:)
Posted by: easyyoga | February 25, 2008 04:50 PM
I can so relate to what you write! Congratulations! I have been on the flip side and have seen teachers reactions to me as an observer....it's a learning experience on both sides - can't wait to be the one in your shoes soon to have the flip side experience!!:)
Posted by: Ilene Cohen | March 16, 2008 05:37 PM
Oh, dear!
This reminds me of when I was about that new to teaching yoga... I had called up the local Jewish Community Center to see if they needed a yoga teacher. They put me on their substitute list and after a while, they called because their full-time Anusara teacher (I teach Traditional Hatha that, in this day, by modern definition, is more like Hatha-Ashtanga) went on a leave of absence. So, I subbed for her with lousy results. Apparently, my style of teaching and hers were quite different. Some of the students embraced my style, others complained to management about it.
The Anusara teacher (who had elite power in that place) returned from her LOA and decided she was wanting to let go of some of her classes to do more of something else in the gym, like Personal Training. So, she wanted to do something like an interview; she came in and observed one of my classes.
I was completely intimidated by her presence and not prepared for that experience. I had never had someone come to my class to judge it before. She ended up critiquing me all over the place... which really had more to do with the fact that I was trying to teach my style to a mixed-up group of women who had been following her Anusara style for YEARS! They weren't prepared to move at a different pace, follow a bunch of sequences they didn't know, and align their postures the way that I was trying to get them to do.
In the end, though, you have to get comfortable with where you are now.
By the way, I've taught Baha'i Youth and it was one of the most fantastic experiences! I have to say, they're an exceptional group of young people, though. (I led a workshop at NEBY Fest 2008.) I got all of them to try headstands and I'd never taught them a yoga class before! It was lots of fun!
Try not to worry so much about how someone is going to rate you, either. Chances are the other person's personality is going to be much like your own and they're still going to be more concerned with their own presentation than yours. She just wants to pick up on your good stuff! That way she can incorporate that into her own classes and feel stronger in front of her group.
Posted by: Karen Segretto, Traditional Hatha Yoga Instructor | April 4, 2008 03:01 AM