Model A Teacher To Be A Teacher

[Dave McNeill]

If you are in the martial arts you should aspire to be a good martial arts teacher. We look to other martial artists for inspiration, examples and guidance. If we are inspired by our own martial arts instructor then our style of instruction will probably be a close copy.

But I think we should also look back to our teachers we had in grades 1 through 12. We all have at least one teacher that we admired and who inspired us. In grade school I had Mrs. Fike and Mrs. Campbell, and they couldn't have been more different in age, size and energy. What they did have in common was their accessibility, caring, and expectation that all their students would do their best. To disappoint either one of them would have been unbearable.

I encourage everyone to remember that exceptional primary teacher, define what made them stand out, then copy their example. Teaching is hard, but it can be made easier if we stand on the shoulders of the ones that have inspired us.