Tania Vantuil

Notes on Positivity

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I had a conversation with Malinda today (March 10, 2023) and wanted to capture some of what we discussed as I feel we may have put into words/ action something that we have skirted around for years.  This pretty much all pertains to Emily Reich, but will definitely be a positive approach for all of our preschool and Young Dragon students.

  1. I feel Emily might not be keeping up and repeating what she is doing because she is slower to process what we are doing (this was my observation during the warmup on Thursday March 09, 2023)

  2. We’ve thought she was just being defiant and just does what she likes over and over but Malinda saw something in her expression the other day when she wanted to bow in again, that gave the impression that Emily was puzzled about something. So if she is doing something a second time, we shouldn’t discourage her, however we do need to stay diligent so that it doesn’t get out of hand.

  3. Malinda chatted with her briefly about the direction she jumps after the bow and told that her bow looks great, but asked if they could try jumping to face the windows for funzies to see what would happen.  Emily smiled and thought it would be fun.

  4. This positive reinforcement will go a long way if we can stay as patient as possible and consistent.

  5. Something else that Malinda has tried that works, is to ask Emily to show her how to do something.  “Emily, I need some help, can you show me…”. I think this will also work well for Derrick and other students that seem to be struggling.  It will give them a sense of “I can do this!”, will boost their confidence and should lead to more discipline.

Meeting Minutes - March 4, 2023

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Jeff Brinker, Tania Vantuil, Khona Rybak, Kevin Lindstrom, Malinda Ferris, Kody Bjorkquist, Sharida Csillag, Noa Csillag, Shira Csillag.  Absent:  Yitzik Csillag

  1. Shadowing: Is where a student can get through a form with help, not just following along.   We need to adjust our expectations here.

  2. Expectations:  Our actions need to match our words

    1. Set them, communicate them, enforce them.

3.  Management:  We are not just teaching, we are managing - manage students, manage assets, manage class.

4.  Animal Badges:  Can be used to help keep kids motivated while they are earning their stripes.

1.  Talk to parents - these teach hard work

2.  We need to promote these more

3.  How do we communicate the value?

5.  Drills:  Make a list of drills that will NOT be done unless they are run by a program director.

1. These are drills that we go to once in a while, when our creativity starts to wane.

2. We cannot keep going to the same drills, as they lose their efficacy

6.  Finishing Classes on Time: it’s imperative that we end classes on time

1.  When we end classes has an effect on when the next class can start, and the upcoming class MUST start on time as we cannot have students waiting and wondering what is going on.

7.  Audit the Members Only section:  Make sure that members only have access to what they should

1.  We need to make sure that students are only seeing the information that pertains to them.

8.  Student Ratings:  A, B, or C

1.  Program directors will have these up to date by the end of the month each month so that the data is in almost real time.

2.  Instructors are encouraged to share their thoughts on ratings, as they may see things that the Program Directors may miss.  However, the Program Director has the final decision.

Engaging Students Idea

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I just wanted to share something that I saw during last Thursday’s Tiny Tiger class.  If you recall, the class was doing a basic relay with the focus on the downward foot block and the kids hitting a paddle.  The kids were also doing splats on the big shields.

The row that Sifu Brinker had seemed to be having the most fun and I attribute that to the way he was utilizing the paddle.  Every time the kids did a splat on the shield, he hit the floor with his paddle making a loud slap.  The kids loved it!  

I would like to see us all (myself included) engage the students more as Sifu Brinker did.  When we are more engaged with the drills, the kids get a lot more out of the lessons.

Thanks!

Tania Vantuil