iniadmin It has been five years since I made the switch from student to teacher. First thing I did prior to teaching was taking a instructor certification course through Vertical Art Athletics (then known as Pole Art Athletics). It was so up my alley! I went to school originally to prepare for medical school and am a certified massage therapist and this program’s focus on anatomy and movement science was amazing!
A few months ago I finished another instructor course and thoroughly enjoyed that one as well. It was unique in how breaking down moves were discussed and the focus of smart movement initiation and execution. But why continue to take teacher training? I teach regularly, so why is continuing education important?
1. New information is always coming out. Keeping up to date on the latest research is important for our continue commitment to safety.
2. You glean different things from different courses. Just like how we encourage students to try different instructors because one instructor may have a way of breaking down a move or that one tip that will change how you approach your training.
3. You don’t get lazy/comfortable. It’s totally natural to get comfortable in what we’ve always done. If we don’t learn, if we aren’t challenge, if we don’t continue to broaden our horizons as instructors, we won’t be able to offer the very best of ourselves to our students.
I noticed a an immediate change in how I taught after that course. Slight improvements in what I was saying and slightly different way of structuring my class. I’ll always be a teacher in training.
