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Dilemma….
Alright ladies
I have a dilemma I"m hoping some of you can help me out with,
(also please ignore all the spelling errors, the Veena spell checker keep freezing up on me and wouldn't work)
Up until a month ago I was living in canada, and had to move away for a teaching position in asia, while in canada I was just finishing my uni degree and on the side taught aerial arts with a professional circus company. I had a friend ask me to start a pole class as well, so I found a little dance studio and had a few lessons going one night a week.
I am a professionally trained aerialists, a certified canadian gymnastics coach, and was the lead fabric/rope coach for a acrobatic schools, so for me teaching a little pole class to beginners was no big stretch. I was also on the waiting list for the PFIC canadian pole certification, but the little buggers kept cancelling the course dates and I couldn't get it in in time before I left for this job.
Anyways, since i've left the country (about a month now) i've had 2 seprate women contact me about how to start teaching pole classes, after reading both their emails I realized that
NEITHER OF THSE WOMEN HAVE EVER EVEN TOUCHED A POLE IN THEIR LIVES.
But Now they want to start teaching classes???????
Not only do I worry for the customers that don't know any better, but I also worry for some of my old students (all of whom know more then these women) some of them had started on invert pole tricks, (like cruefix) and without someone who knows how to properly spot a trick, or positioning etc… it could get real ugly real quick if they aptempt these moves alone or get bad instruction.
I politely (will I tried to be) emailed each of them back and explained as nicely as I could (which was hard) that if you've never done pole before DONT YOU F***ING DARE THINK YOU CAN TEACH IT!
One of them is a zumba instructor, which i'm guessing she will try to play off as credibility for teaching, but having a zumba instructor teach pole is equivelent to having a bowling coach try to teach someone how to do a round off back hand spring combo, it's not the fricken same.
I have yet to receive a response back from either woman, so i'm pretty sure my warning was just disregarded and they are going to go ahead with teaching anyways.
The dilemma comes in whether or not I should send an email out to all of my old students warning them of these potential "pole instructors"
Is this my obligation as someone who knows better?
Or should I just keep my nose out of another businesses well…. business.
A friend even emailed me a add in the paper advertising for a pole instructor to teach classes, it didn't say for who only gave a phone #, kinda sketchy if you ask me (and I can say with 100% certinity there are no instructors in the area, unless you count the strippers) this one's going to be a wait and see.
I havn't heard of any classes starting yet, but I think its only a matter of time
anyways, suggestions would be appreciated.
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8 Replies
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There is an old saying "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar"
These potential instructors were inquiring what was involved in teaching pole. That is admirable, they saw a need, and they had a desire. They wanted to spread the word of pole.
The best approach in a scenario like this, in my opinion, is to provide information. They were asking because they didn't know, but were interested or at least curious. If we seek to educate then people can make informed decisions, if instead we keep our art locked away in a little magical box and simply assert that no one can touch it without the magical key we turn people off and rather than becoming more popular, pole will become less so.
Remember too that there are many levels of pole, many of the classes in a gym are little more than walking around the pole. We need to encourage people to take up our flag and we do that through education.
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If you strike the match, then you can potentially light the torch…..
I'd refrain from sending out any warning- even though you have good intentions your warning may not come across as such. If your former students choose to take a class from any of these people that you feel are not fit to be teaching, then your students will see it and either offer to help them by working with them to steer them in the right direction or decide not to spend their time or money there anymore. They themselves might start to teach it and realize that they're not ready to be teaching. It's something they need to learn on their own. It sounds like if they're already reaching out that they are in deed doing their homework and obtaining as much information as possible to embark on this new experience for them. By writing to former students to send a warning you could potentially cause unwanted drama for yourself. The community already has enough issues and drama due to miscommunication from social media or email correspondence that this would just be another example of internet misinterpretation that would just cause problems for everyone involved. Best to just leave it be or if there's something you're really concerned about, discuss it with them by giving them the information or point them to it that you feel they are lacking.
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Maybe you could recommend some notable DVDs to these ladies, like Art of Pole or something like that? Perhaps after seeing those DVDs (or even just reading the description) they will figure out that pole dance and fitness needs to be learned first, and then taught. A Zumba instructor would have a decent amount of endurance, but you are right, repetitive rhythmic motions for the purpose of cardio and holding up your body weight but the skin of your knee pit are two different things. However, I would think a Zumba instructor is fit enough to learn pole faster than most. I agree with Webbie and Kobajo… don't send out a warning to your former students. If the community in that area got wind of something like that, it would be seen as sabotage and cause unnecessary cat fight drama for yourself and others involved. I think recommending Studio Veena as a source, other online sources, and notable DVDs is a good way to help educate them in our style of fitness.
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Webmaster is right. The fact that they are open to a pole class is great. I think the fact that you made them aware of the hazards of pole is great, and it sounds like they took your warning seriously and are now looking for someone who knows how to teac pole to teach some classes for them, which is a good step.
Here is another angle that those women could take, and you could suggest it. Since they are fit women and already have a fitness background, they would take the time to learn the basics of pole on their own to get them started in teaching a pole basics class. If these women already have the knowledge is fintess, and then learn proper pole form, they should be fine. From there, they can expand their knowledge base to higher levels. That is what my pole instructor did after she got certified, and I thought she was a great instructor.
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Honestly, if one of my teachers left and was being replaced by someone who was unqualified, i would be pissed that they didnt tell me. People spend alot of $$ on classes, and pole dancing can be really dangerous. I would be really upset that they didnt let me know.
Put yourself in the situation….how would u feel? Would u want to be warned? I would.
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There are different formats of classes. I come from a different learning format. I started out from classes where the beginning classes were soley learning spins. The level 2 had some harder spins, and some climbs. Advanced had inverts. Tricks were not even CONSIDERED!
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thank you ladies for all the good replies
To be honest I'm not overly worried about the students I taught on a regular basis, if anyone else starts teaching my "advanced" group will contact me to let me know, and ask questions about the instructor. they all fall in the friend categories, and we were pretty close knit.
but there were several other girls that came less regularly, and those are the ones' I'm worried about, and the new students that just don't know better.
and I agree there are different level of pole classes, however from experience I've found that YouTube has a tendency to bite you in the a** on that one. Girls watch videos and and want to try what they see. I"ve had to step in a few times and tell certain individuals they are not ready for this or that trick. but at the very least when the time came that they were ready I had the know how to teach it properly. girls in a "no trick" class tend to get restless after a run of lessons, where they have achieved the objectives of the floor work and want to go further. Then what happens? the inexperienced instructor either has to tell them they don't know how to teach those moves and loose a customer, or attempt to teach a trick they don't even know how to do themselves, and that is where it gets dangerous.
I explained to the lady in the email that it was a good goal to be able to become a pole instructor, but to be a good instructor she needed to seek out training first. unfortunately we live rather far from the nearest pole school, she would be required to travel for professional coaching, which is unfortunate for all of us, but that's what comes with living on an island.
englann86 you talk about the pole community getting wind of something like that and starting drama, well there is no pole community here, there was the girls I taught and that was it. and I do have to agree with lizzyliz on the fact that if an instructor i was under was replaced by someone that knew less then me I would be very upset at both wasting my money and at being taught incorrectly.
It's a tough call….
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Upandover, I understand your concern and it is a tough situation. My 2 cents worth; unless these new teachers are punting it that they are officially replacing you, then you need to let people make up their own mind about whether to take classes with a new instructor or not.
Think about it, you're worried about girls who have been to class with you a few times, or new girls you've never met. Why are you feeling a need to protect girls you've never met from instructors you've never seen teach? Would the same thinking be rational about new girls in other parts of the country? Would you want to protect them from the dangers of learning from Youtube? I don't know if i'm making sense, but maybe evaluate your personal reasons for wanting to get involved. I know from being a teacher that we develop a strong bond with the girls we teach and we want the best for them, but we also need to let them be independant and make their own decisions about things.
I'd be inclined to say that if someone asks you about it, tell them honestly that you don't know what qualifications this new teacher has and encourage them to ask the question. If no-one asks for your opinion, does it benefit you to give it? I'd be inclined to say it would be better to stay silent unless asked…
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