An Apprenticeship

When you want to become a classroom teacher, you quickly realize that it is a fairly involved process.  There's the History and Philosophy of Education, there's Best Practices with which you should become familiar, and there's even the "anatomy of a school" - how administration is organized within the district, the school, the department, and even down to your classroom.  There are also endless hours of observation that you undertake, carefully learning under the guidance of a "master teacher" - or at least one who, hopefully, has been teaching for a good number of years.  Finally, you enter your "student teaching" phase - one where the master teacher hands over the proverbial "reigns" to a class or two - allowing you to craft a lesson, execute it, and with the teacher's help, assess how everything went.

In the yoga teacher training program, we hit upon every bit of these aspects of a traditional classroom teacher training, except one.  We learned the history and philosophy of yoga, we learned to dissect the foundational postures of yoga, and we learned the anatomy of the human body.  We read, we practiced, and we observed.  We wrote up lessons, we demoed lessons, and we took tests.  What we didn't do was "student teach".  Is this a necessary component?  Perhaps it might be.

Student teaching is a valuable part of a classroom teacher's training.  It allows you to craft lessons and execute them, but if something isn't quite right or needs adjustment, your cooperating teacher is right there to help you out of a jam.  There might be situations that arise where you are unsure of protocol or how to handle them.  Having that experienced teacher there with you, as another pair of eyes, ears, and sometimes hands, can lend a security to your lesson delivery.  "Master" teachers know how to think on their feet, they know how to quickly shift gears and guide a lesson to meet the needs of their students - and this is something that is gained only with experience.

This ability to "read the room", "problem solve", and "go with the flow" can't be taught in a classroom - it is learned on the job, and it's so much easier to pick up when you're an "apprentice" rather than a newbie tossed into a situation.  For this reason, I think a "student teaching" of sorts might be a valuable part of a yoga teacher training, especially when you have such a varied background of experience, body-type, and ability in a yoga classroom.

Luckily, I've found a "seasoned", heck, I'll even say "Master" yoga teacher to apprentice under.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity - not because I'm too chicken to undertake my first yoga class on my own.  I'm honored that another teacher is willing to share her craft with me, letting me learn the subtleties and nuances of a class while she's there as "backup".  She can help me dissect my lessons and help direct them in a positive way, simply because she's likely seen it before and been in that situation.  Truthfully, I think apprenticing is a good way to gain positive teaching experiences and help me to become a better-rounded teacher.

So, for those of you who are local, I'll be beginning my Apprenticeship at Prasanthi Studio, 136 Fifth Avenue in Pelham this Saturday - teaching a Yoga Foundations: Beginner Series, from 11am to 12.  Hope to see you on this next part of my yoga teaching journey!

Namaste.