We talk a lot about managing different scenarios in our classes and training. When we teach and train, we are multi-tasking way beyond just the intricacies of the skills we’re working on. When we are teaching a class we can be simultaneously managing different student levels, different student personalities, and different student goals. We are also managing anything that comes up in the moment, be it aerial related or not.
One of the most unexpected scenarios to encounter can managing different motivations for doing aerial. There is no right or wrong motivation to learn aerial, but we may be very unconsciously biased toward our own motivation. Or in other words, other students’ motivations may be hard for us to fully understand.
As teachers sometimes we have to change how we present concepts and how we cue skills to match our students’ motivations. Sometimes we have to compassionately (and temporarily) redirect our students towards different motivations to get them to break through plateaus or resolve problems.
Do you know what motivates you to do aerial? Do you know what motivates your students to do aerial? How do you manage the differences?
