Tips for Pilates teachers from my 14 year old son…

My son just turned 14, and like any 14 year old boy one of the first things he wanted to do is get his driving permit.  As a parent having my kid driving kind of terrifies me, but I knew that I wanted him to be a good driver and the best way to give him those skills was to get as much practice time as possible.  So I made a pact with myself to try to go out daily with him to start the learning process.  I figured I am a natural teacher…I spend my days teaching movement and Pilates to clients who often have no movement experience at all….how hard could teaching driving be?  I made a vow to be as patient as I could, try not to yell and give him lots of positive encouragement.

Before I tell you more, let me say overall I love our driving practice time.  Caden and I don’t share a lot of common interests these days and I feel like as he gets older it’s harder and harder to find things we can do together. I always feel like our driving time connects us a little more and I really enjoy it. That being said…I’m not going to lie….the first few times we drove were quite the experience.  Very quickly I realized I was not in control and there was only so much I could do to help him figure out what he needed to figure out.  I had to figure out how to calmly use my voice and my words to help Caden figure out what he needed to do, when he needed to do it and how he should do it.  So many times I wanted to be able to push the break pedal or turn the wheel for him…but I couldn’t!

I drive so much that I truly had forgotten what it was like to be starting from the beginning to learn to drive!  I had to go back to the basics and walk through all of the things that I do without thinking…gradually speeding up and slowing down (instead of slamming the brakes!), when to turn on your turn signal, how to keep your eyes on the road but still be aware of traffic behind you, knowing your speed limit, etc. And even bigger than instructing him on all of that stuff I have to give him time to practice and use what I’m telling him without freaking out too much!  As long as safety is not an issue..I kind of have to let him figure out things by practicing imperfectly.

And if me feeling very out of control wasn’t enough…he started asking questions while he was driving…How times should I turn the wheel when I turn? Is it a quarter turn, half turn or what?  How does the car work when you put it into reverse?  Is it illegal to drive without shoes? Those are just a few of the ones I remember because I did not have a quick answer for them when he asked.

This whole experience reminds me of watching my new teacher trainees as they start to learn to teach Pilates and movement to others.  By the time the trainees are teaching others they are very experienced with the movements in their own body and have a great understanding of what the goals of the exercise are and technically how do it it..but the challenging part comes when you have to teach someone else how to do it.  The teaching path is never as easy as just tell them how to do it …   Everyone learns differently so you have to prepared to give lots of different ways for a clients to learn something in their body.  And then even harder is you have to give the time and space to figure it out.  You have to let them do it “wrong”  or “not exactly perfect” as long as it’s not going to hurt them so that they can learn what they need to do.  And you can’t overload them with corrections and explanations or they will get frustrated and probably not want to keep trying!

Here’s a quick list of my favorite teaching tips I was reminded of by my son:

1. Be prepared to have lots of different ways to teach each exercise.
2. Keep them safe first.
3.  Once you’ve presented the exercise and the information…let them practice and practice and practice and practice.
4. Don’t overwhelm them with corrections.
5. Give lots of positive feedback when they do something correctly.
6. Be prepared to answer questions (that may or may not really affect them learning the skill you are teaching)!
7. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t “get it” right away.  One of your most important jobs as a teacher is to make the experience fun, enjoyable and encouraging so they stick with it.  Any new skill takes time to learn, they will get it eventually if they stick with it!