.: Mid-Season Blues: Patience
is a Virtue
It’s getting to that time in the season isn’t
it? You’re putting costumes in and putting endings on;
taking tosses up and taking bad transitions out. And while
all this is going on, the only thing you can think is, “Why
aren’t these kids taking this more seriously?!”
We all get to the breaking point and throw drumsticks, end
rehearsal early and sit home at night with the bottle of Maalox
glued to our hand. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Isn’t this supposed to be fun? So take a deep breath
and think about some of these things.
They Are Only 15
Or 16 or 18 or 12…the
bottom line is that they are kids. They do want to do well
but their priorities are still teenage priorities. The majority
of the time they really are trying their hardest…it’s
just hard to pay attention when you’re trying to figure
out how to get that cute drummer to ask you to prom.
Honey Works Better
Than Vinegar
Students are stubborn.
Working from the positive end of things will often work better
than yelling and screaming and getting upset. Remember they
get that response from their parents and their other teachers
all the time…they are really good at tuning that out.
Besides, if you try to be easy going the majority of the time
they will know you definitely mean business the few times
you need to really lay down the law.
The MTV/IPOD/Cell
Phone Generation
Kids are used to things
coming fast and changing rapidly which is why they love to
learn new work and hate cleaning old work. While I always
recommend having a consistency to your rehearsals and your
training process, slight changes can have the benefit of garnering
more attention from your students. For example, warm-up on
equipment before body or stretch in a circle and let each
student choose which stretch to do next. Little things like
this will get their minds working in a productive manner.
In The End, It’s
Up To Them
As much as we wish
we could, we can’t go out there and march their show
for them. At the end of the day they are the ones who are
going to have to apply all your instructions make the magic
happen. No one really thinks you haven’t taught them
how to throw that quad, they just aren’t applying your
lessons. So stop popping the TUMS and think of a different
way to make them understand.
Remember Why You Are
Doing This
We all have different
reasons why we love to teach…and it sure isn’t
the money! I never really realized how much positive energy
I got from my students until I took a season off. Think about
why you do this and bring the joy back to what you do. Your
kids will thank you for it and so will your ulcer! I hope
these tips help and that you continue to have a great season!
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