Lynne
Master of Arts
My time is coming. If I pass my spotlights and tests, I will become a 3rd gup, red belt, in November. At that time, it's a requirement that I "swat." SWAT stands for students working as teachers.
My daughter just began swatting. The first class went great. Mind you, there is a black belt instructor and swatters are there to assist, not take over the class. Basically, swatters are to correct students that the instructor cannot see. An instructor cannot see all 10 kids doing a form. Classes can range up to 45 students or more and there are usually 4 instructors.
The second class was wild. I think it's because the kids were having fun week. (That's hell week for adults though.) The kids get to do fun activities like tumbling, balancing, and jumping over obstacles (plyometrics). They were being terrors. One red belt kid kept taking his belt off but wasn't old enough to know how to tie it, so my daughter kept tying it back on. She'd told him to not take his belt off but he ignored her. The kids were taking the ends of their belts and slapping each other with them, trying to start fights. They began lying and saying so-and-so jumped ahead when so-and-so hadn't.
The instructor threatened to make several of the boys sit out. They became more boisterous because they wanted to sit out.
I suppose there isn't much you can do since the days of bamboo spankings are over. Not that I would want anyone touching my child, period.
Parents. Therein lies a problem, too. Parents have gotten into it with the instructors when an instructor was verbally admonishing a child for bad behavior.
My daughter hasn't swatted enough for us to know if the kids are like this on a regular basis or just special occasions where they are hyped up. I expect Christmas and Halloween and such would be crazy.
So, there isn't much you can do, I suppose. Is it mainly holidays and such that the kids act up?
What do you do to discipline children?
My daughter just began swatting. The first class went great. Mind you, there is a black belt instructor and swatters are there to assist, not take over the class. Basically, swatters are to correct students that the instructor cannot see. An instructor cannot see all 10 kids doing a form. Classes can range up to 45 students or more and there are usually 4 instructors.
The second class was wild. I think it's because the kids were having fun week. (That's hell week for adults though.) The kids get to do fun activities like tumbling, balancing, and jumping over obstacles (plyometrics). They were being terrors. One red belt kid kept taking his belt off but wasn't old enough to know how to tie it, so my daughter kept tying it back on. She'd told him to not take his belt off but he ignored her. The kids were taking the ends of their belts and slapping each other with them, trying to start fights. They began lying and saying so-and-so jumped ahead when so-and-so hadn't.
The instructor threatened to make several of the boys sit out. They became more boisterous because they wanted to sit out.
I suppose there isn't much you can do since the days of bamboo spankings are over. Not that I would want anyone touching my child, period.
Parents. Therein lies a problem, too. Parents have gotten into it with the instructors when an instructor was verbally admonishing a child for bad behavior.
My daughter hasn't swatted enough for us to know if the kids are like this on a regular basis or just special occasions where they are hyped up. I expect Christmas and Halloween and such would be crazy.
So, there isn't much you can do, I suppose. Is it mainly holidays and such that the kids act up?
What do you do to discipline children?