I teach Karate to children ages 5- to 10-years-old or so. I started with an all girls class and after it grew, we added an all boys class. We decided early on to separate the genders. Our reasoning was based on stereotyping I suppose, but I still think it is sound. During athletic-style engagements, girls can tend to take a submissive role when surrounded by boys. Kenpo Karate is about self-defense. I want the girls to be able to become fully engaged, confident, and aggressive when event-appropriate. Our fear was that the girls may not be appropriately aggressive in a mixed class. In fact I was fearful they would take a submissive role, feeling they would not be able to compete with boys. Now I didn’t use research to back that up; I used instinct. Instinct can be very misleading, but it is what I did. However, I have heard of research that shows that all-girl schools are very successful.
I have found that the girls have blossomed. They are aggressive when they need to be, and they are engaged. They punch, they kick and they practice their art. I just do not have enough good things to say about how hard my girls are working. They work till they have red marks on their forearms and knuckles. They beam with pride when they show me their battle scars. When they get hurt, they cry a bit, but not once do they give up. They fight on. The Mom’s are digging it and so do I.
The boys, well I have to tell you something, the boys class is smaller and is much different. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that boys and girls are the same. They are not. That is a myth. Stop in and watch my girls class and then watch a boys class and you will see a big difference. In the words of my beautiful wife, “Teaching the boys’ class is like herding cats.”
Managing an all boys Karate class is like trying to herd cats. This class is small and consists of mostly 5- and 6-year-olds with a couple of older boys thrown in. One of my student’s has a disability. They touch each other, the walls, themselves, the floor and the equipment. Standing in one place consists of a 4-foot diameter circle. They spin, the blink, they twirl, they fidget and they somehow manage to chew on their karate belts. It’s amazing. The class is only 45 minutes.
I don’t mind the difference between boys and girls. Those are natural, normal, good and should be celebrated and even laughed about at times. What I mind, and where I fail as a teacher, is when I allow those biological differences to affect my expectations. That is when I allow gender differences to turn into gender bias. Teaching karate degenerated because my expectations were that my boys could do no better. Once that expectation solidified, then I compared them to the girls, which lead to an end of learning and an increase in frustrations, both on my part and on the students’ part. They failed because I failed them.
This week I made some changes and I saw instant results from the boys. Their ability to focus, stand still and complete what was asked of them occurred. They did it and they were proud of themselves. I was proud of them and happy with myself too. We learned together, although they didn’t realize it. I may have to use some different techniques with one group (or one child) than I do with another group (or another child), but that is inconsequential. It is nothing more than a means to a final goal. There are still differences between the two groups and diversity within the two groups, but that just that keeps life interesting.
Once I changed my approach then my expectation was met and everyone achieved the goal. We just found different paths to meet those goals. Opening the doors to those paths, my friends, is what teaching is all about. And I am digging it. Sometimes adults think that the change must start with the children. But I disagree. We don’t change the kids. We change and the children follow suit. Kiai.
I learned something. Teaching is like herding cats and it really doesn’t matter who you are teaching. I’m sure my teachers feel the same way about me some days.
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3 comments:
We all have done that at one time or another. We put out our expectations and we get back what we expected. The power of the self fulfilling prophesy has shown its ugly face. It also has a gloriously beautiful face when you change the expectations.
I imagine your teachers are feeling that way rather often if you turn in essays with the punctuation errors found in this entry. Please learn what an apostrophe is for, and what it is not for, before teaching elementary language arts.
Lynne Truss is my hero.
No Anonymous,
Lynne Truss isn't your hero. If she were, you would have explained that when showing plural possession the proper use would be to use an apostrophe at the end (i.e. boys').
You would have chosen to educate rather than use a jape. And you would have had the guts to sign your name.
My name is Jack and I simply typed faster than my hands could keep up. Too bad that I didn't bother to edit properly before hitting the Publish button. Admittedly my mistake. But don't assume my typing error is ignorance on my part.
I take constructive criticism well and accept fully that I should have edited before publishing. I don't take nasty japes just to make you feel better. If that is what you are looking for, you can take that elsewhere.
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