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Old 11-25-2006, 08:57 AM   #20
mriehle
 
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Dojo: New School Aikido
Location: Stockton, CA
Join Date: May 2002
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Re: Have a sensei that is to verbose .

Quote:
Peter Ralls wrote:
I find it interesting that people who instruct are supporting the concept of spending a very large percentage of class time being spent in lectures by the teacher rather than training.
I think it's a question of defining "very large". I support the idea that lectures are a part of teaching. So is actually training. Some lectures are longer than others. Some people need more lecturing than others.

Balance is key.

Quote:
Peter Ralls wrote:
I have trained with instructors that talked so much that I was frustrated by the lack of time to actually train.
That seems to me the exact definition of too much lecturing.

Quote:
Peter Ralls wrote:
My own experience with the instructors that spend huge amounts of class time talking is that they are self indulgent people full of their own self importance, and that they are much more interested in fulfilling their ego needs than they are in responding to the needs of their students, even though some of these instructors are very good aikidoists themselves.
Or they are inexperienced at teaching. Being good at Aikido doesn't automatically make you good at teaching. I believe all yudansha should be required to spend some time teaching, but I don't expect them all to be good at it.

I know when I first started teaching I probably talked way too much. I may have already mentioned my essentially verbal nature. It took a while to hit a balance where I explained enough, but didn't spend half the class time lecturing.

It also helps to be able to lecture effectively. Explanations which fail to communicate the point you're trying to make are a waste of time by definition. I know that many of my lectures in my early days of teaching came under this heading.

Quote:
Peter Ralls wrote:
My advice to someone who is frustrated by their teacher talking so much that they can't train, is to find another teacher. If you are not happy with the teaching you are receiving, it's not going to get any better as time goes by.
I wouldn't be quite so definite about it. But if the guy has been teaching for a few years and he's always been like this, well, it isn't likely to change. If he or she is a green teacher, say something. If it still doesn't change, move on.

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