I finally got my butt to TKD class last night. I think it went really well! I'm sore as all get out today but I had yet another affirmation that I should be a teacher. The orange belts who tested last week still don't have their green belts so it didn't look like I'm behind everyone else. I also got the straight dope on what testing was like - horrible (this is from an athletic 17 year old - crap!)
In my opinion, the trick to being a good teacher is like being a good magician. You don't see the steps behind a lesson or the ultimate goal. Once a student sees the goal, the learning stops. No matter how imginative your lesson plan is, if I can see that you are showing us a movie in class because you're behind on grading, the class is mentally blown off. So, at my TKD school we have a mix of teaching styles. The college kids, since they're younger, don't really have any lesson plans to fall back on so basically their classes are just filling up 45 minutes of random drills. Last night, I noticed our instructor was checking the clock a lot and when we had 5 minutes left, he had us get into horse stance. Since I knew this is how he's going to spend the last 5 minutes of class, I suggested that we name as many western movies as possible (get it, horse stance = you look like you're riding an invisible horse). Not only did we name westerns, we went onto sci-fi, and film noir. That is how 5 minutes in horse stance didn't kill me or my classmates. I know TKD is about self defense and not happy fun times, but it doesn't hurt to add in some laughs to get over the tough parts! Speaking of, oddly enough, doing push ups on my knuckles feels better than my hands!
Sundays are my chore days and have been for about 20 years. I make my work lunches and plan my week's meals Sunday night. I have to admit, I really did a good job this week! Sunday, I boiled up some Uncle Ben's brown rice and cooked a yummy Trader Joes vegetable melange. Throw them together and you have a nice casserole that is high in fiber and complete protein. Another bonus is that it's a kitty-proof meal. Even Rasputin won't eat it. I like making a week's worth of lunches because my kitchen becomes an assembly line. Paired bread, condiment & knife, deli meats/cheeses, cutting board, and sandwich bag. Rinse and repeat. Also this week, I have tried pineapple salsa for the first time. My God, it is AWESOME. In fact, I'm thinking of ways to make it a marinade. It would be perfect with grilled chicken.
It's funny how having a pet has changed the way I think. Now, I can quickly think through danger options before I let Rasputin play with something. That wasn't how my brain had worked. I was pretty laissez faire with pets and kids until the "Oh shit they can swallow that!" moment eventually hit. Now, when I see Rasputin intriged by something I have mental flip cards; choking, poisoning, expensive damage, sending a message, that I can consider in a minute. There is one habit that the jury is still out on. A couple days ago, I found out that Rasputin likes eating organic indigo chips. I think he likes the crunchiness since he's teething. It hasn't effected his stomach poorly and he doesn't make that big of a mess. But I'm still worried that it's wrong to let him munch on chips.
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