How do I become a better teacher I hear. This is an interesting question, because I don’t know, beyond saying “go get some adult learning training. Teaching is teaching. But in the Budo, I’ve never really… no I lie… it’s been years since I was worried about teaching, about shoving information into students. I am certainly in a class, and I present information, but I have no responsibility to shove it into anyone’s brain. They can listen and learn, or not. I don’t really have any responsibility to them, to make them learn. If students are chatting off in a corner, no sweat. Now, questions are a very different thing. I will beat at a question until it is answered. You see, that’s a request for instruction and I will then make sure the instruction is passed along. Gradings are a part of this “shove it into the students” sort of teaching. If students fail a test, you have failed as a teacher. But these days of zoom, anyone can drop into a class, stay or leave, I won’t really notice, and there are no gradings so even that trigger toward the urge to shove in the info is gone. Learn or not, up to you, I’m there for an hour and I’m presenting the information. Maybe I’m distracting you with jokes, or stories, but the information is there, especially if you ask a question. No questions? No worries, you must know it so my job is done. Teaching? No, not my job. It’s your job to learn… I’m not your mother, I’m not being paid to teach you, nobody is testing you on what I’m teaching, and I’m beyond the need for students to pass it along, got enough of those.
Kim Taylor
U. Guelph Japanese Swordsmanship Club (Sei Do Kai): cancelled for physical distancing Contact earlisse@gmail.com for details on virtual classes
Seito Bugei Juku 