If your club has black belts
who contribute to the teaching,
it is wise to offer heartfelt
thanks and incentives to ensure
they stay satisfied helping
out and stay enthused about
teaching.
As
Dennis (2005) points out in
his article relating to the
woes of an assistant instructor;
it is easy to see how classes
could suffer and attitudes
could change if one relies
too heavily on assistant instructors
to run the classes. This problem
gets even worse if they (the
assistant instructors) are
not given recognition for
their efforts.
As
an instructor who has assistants
take classes or assist classes;
you must make sure you reward
your ‘workers’.
They may sincerely enjoy helping
out, maybe they want to teach
like you do. Still you must
explain to them regularly
how important they are to
your club.
Possible
rewards for their service
are discounts or free tuition,
offer to pay a percentage
of seminar fees when they
are in your area. You could
get together outside the club
with your assistants and have
coffee or dinner together.
These build camaraderie and
show that you care about their
opinions and what they do.
If
your club is in good financial
standing, you could perhaps
pay for a heavyweight uniform
once a year for your assistant(s).
These are subtle and simple
ways to show your appreciation
for the work of your assistants.
When you offer even a few
moments time at the beginning
of class to your assistants;
they will see and feel that
this is something special.
One on one with you that ‘regular’
students do not get. The other
students will also see the
connection and respect that
you are showing the assistants
(and they are showing you);
this helps to instill the
attitudes of the club and
brings the club unity together.
Lower
ranks see that the assistants
get extra benefits by helping
out, showing their loyalty
and willingness to assist;
this in turn spurs the lower
ranks on to join the higher
ranks and help out also. Such
a small gesture of regular
appreciation can go such a
long way.
Dennis, J. (2005). A Frustrating
Rant. Uechi-ryu Journal,
1.2. Retrieved August 10,
2005 from http://uechi-ryu-journal.com/june_05_JD.php.
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