Age of students - what age will you start teaching?

[Laurentkd]

Oh, a class full of 12 yo. - paradise....

It is more rewarding to teach the more mature, but you can find a few pearls among the younger. We got one kid in the program right now, he was 4, but much more mature then his fellow cubs...he moved out of that group in a hurry and is still going strong.

And the thought of what these kids could become if they stick with the arts until say, 18.... WOW!

On the other hand - taking this off topic once more, how do you deal with kids who are obviously not like the majority? I don't mean bullies and disrespectful, but more like odd, like the body and mind a re not connected.

If the child can not stand somewhat still and listen to instructions, you can't allow the kid to stay in class is my opinion. Of course all children of this age aren't going to be perfect! But, if after a few weeks you find you spend all of your time trying to get a child back on task, I believe you owe it to the other members of the class to ask this child to return in a few months when he may be more able to handle the environment. Now, if a kid is just plain weird and uncorrdinated.... well aren't they all?
Like Master Stoker said, it just take patience. As well as praising anything positive that you see (both for his benefit and for yours- so you can also be encouraged by the progress the two of you are making).

 

[turtle]

I have to agree with Terry. I'd take a class full of 5 year olds over teenage white belts. The little kids are so eager to learn and just soak everything up. I taught a "peewee" class for about 10 years and most of the kids were in the 5-8 range. Sometimes we'd get a 4 year old who could follow directions and keep up, but most of 4 year olds I'd tell to come back in a year. And even with the slightly older kids, I found I had to adapt my teaching so instead of using right and left, I named the walls on each side of the room. Funny how a kid can remember the "flag wall" and the "picture wall" but not right and left.

If you get a kid who starts at 5 and sticks with it, by 12 or 13, you have a kid who's ready to face being a teenager with some serious confidence and discipline, not to mention a "hobby" that keeps them really really busy. Which definitely makes the peewee stage of classes worthwhile as an instructor.

 

[jlhummel]

I owe my getting back into martial arts again to my kids taking a "little dragons class" offered at our community center by instructor Bob Hudson 2nd Dan, in Modern Farang Mu Sul. There are no belts for ages 5 to 8 but its as others here have said, they work to develop motor skills and being prepared for the 8 to 16 year old class. They earn stars on their white belts. My oldest boy (9) started in that class and this year my youngest has started as well. My oldest will be testing for his third belt soon (orange), and my youngest wont miss class even when he's sick. I think a lot is in the expectation the instuctor gives to both the parents and the kids. I started in 5th grade with a Judo class offered by a retired State Policeman at my middle school and I have come back again and again though out my life. If you pass on the joy, camaraderie, and the bother and sisterhood of matial arts at a young age it will last a lifetime.

 

[Kacey]

On the other hand - taking this off topic once more, how do you deal with kids who are obviously not like the majority? I don't mean bullies and disrespectful, but more like odd, like the body and mind a re not connected.

Some kids are just not coordinated; sometimes it's physical, sometimes it's mental, often a combination. Break skills down into the smallest pieces that you can, and teach each piece separately, then recombine them one at a time. Kids like that - who have difficulty learning, but do if you give them the time and small enough pieces - are often the ones who appreciate it the most, and can develop into some of your best students; I know that they have for me.