Becoming a teacher #7

Teaching experience...

Students in our school who are seeking to be a teacher have trained with me for many years and have loads of notes, handouts, insights and perceptions. They've helped out in class for so long that taking the next step is not so daunting. But it is still harder than you may imagine.

As a helper, you can always fall back on the teacher for assistance. As the teacher, you have no one to fall back on.

There is more to teaching than delivering material. You must find ways of interacting with people, of being comfortable with people. Students who help out in class over many years cultiavte rapport.

If a non-helper asked to suddenly become an instructor, I'd question their motives. What drives them?

Helpers are eager to assist, to guide. They learn by helping, it changes their tai chi and alters their perceptions.