Meeting Minutes - February 28, 2017
Pre note- I didn't take extensive notes this time so please, please add anything I've missed. I know I missed things.
Rowan Johnson is grading this weekend- she's unmotivated right now and we need to figure out how to fix that.
Need to fully commit to the transition, no more 1 foot in, 1 for out. Commit to an idea, don't second guess things. Much comes down reliance on the support network. Less talk in classes. Need to get more technique out of the kids (eg. jab-jab-reverse needs to be at a higher level). Don't force a lesson- if it's not working don't flog a dying horse, move on.
Need more creative drills to get the same lessons across. (Personal note- help me with this guys. My fountain is running dry right now).
We all need to be making notes- need to be engaged with the kids and the parents and noting everything. By the time a kid has disappeared for months it's too late- we should have noticed and intervened before that point. Possibility of discussing each student individually during the meetings, ranking as A, B or C student. C student needs intervention.
No pylons on the matts. Need to congeal as a team.
Watch the parents, engage with the parents. If their kid is a C student, discuss it with them. They're ultimately the ones with the ability to pull or keep a kid in.
Use the spreadsheet for each and every class- three days later is too late and the record will be inaccurate. Also use the spreadsheet to determine what needs to be covered.
Comments & Discussion of Minutes
Yitzik Csillag 6y
Host
Thanks for posting.
Why no pylons?
Was the stripe mentoring discussed?
When and how are we going to rank students? I like the idea.
We should discuss c students but also students that move from A to B.
1
· Reply
Khona Rybak 6y
Host
I mean people pylons- we always need to be engaged. No to stripe mentors. Just discuss each student during the meetings and determine where they're at- something that I feel should be getting done more often than once a month anyways, discuss the students as we note issues instead of waiting for the next meeting.
· Reply
Jeff Brinker 6y
Host·Sifu
It should be noted that the stuff we covered in last night's meeting is virtually identical to the meeting notes from 2012 that I read out to you all at the beginning. We need to implement my instructions or I am going to have to start making changes. The specific instructions that need to be implemented are concerning the pylons. Everybody needs to be 100% engaged as a team member. Each of us fills a purpose on the deck and we fill in for voids left by the other instructors. We're part of a team and we need to act accordingly.
· Reply
Yitzik Csillag 6y
Host
I think that there need to be more specific instructions as obviously not much changed. I also think that we should be addressing how we make sure that "helpers" are actually helping. Making sure they know what is expected from them, what the class is going to be, etc.
· Reply
Jeff Brinker 6y
Host·Sifu
I can't be more specific unless I am on the deck consistently to observe what and when things are happening. One of the reasons I have so many instructors out there is because I cannot be on the deck consistently. Furthermore, specific or not, (curriculum vs. syllabus, when to call "students", online engagement, etc.) there is a consistent inconsistency with our instructors which makes it impossible to move ahead unless everyone is following the instructions and policies that have been set. It is our inconsistency that pushes us to constantly revise our approach in an attempt to get buy in.
What everyone must start doing is weekly reviewing our goals and policies and ensuring they are mindful to follow them 100% of the time. If that happens, consistency will show results, results can be evaluated, and proper adjustments can be made.
As far as helpers go, everyone must comply and pull their weight. If someone is seeing a consistent pylon out there, it must be brought to my attention. I will deal with the individual and help them to properly engage with the class and the team's expectations. If they cannot comply, then their future as an instructor must be re-evaluated. Of course I expect the team to be sharing information and ideas that are going to help helpers figure out where they are needed. However, if all else fails, I need to be informed and become involved.· Reply
Khona Rybak 6y
Host
Personally I think a huge chunk of this is communication, or lack thereof. It's rare we have full or timely online engagement. Not all of us make it to classes before the doors open to the students and after classes we all have other commitments or responsibilities. If we had a reliable form of frequent communication many of these issues could be addressed. Your idea, Yitzik of a weekly meeting after one of the classes I think is the best, so we can discuss the students, any issues and try to refocus ourselves as to what the policies are and what is expected. Although I don't know if that'll fly.
Tania, would you be available after classes Tuesdays? Yitzik, are you available after the Monday class? We can start there and see where we need to go after that.
· Reply
Yitzik Csillag 6y
Host
Mondays after class will work for me.
· Reply
Tania Vantuil 6y
Member
I should be good after classes on Tuesdays.
· Reply
Yitzik Csillag 6y
Host
I agree with what you are saying but I think it is being interpreted differently by different people.
Reviewing our goals and policies on a regular basis is great if there is a clarity of what they are. I can't just nod our heads and continue like nothing happened.
If we have the same issues we had for few years we obviously have a problem of understanding what the issues are or how to go about fixing.
I also think communication is key for all of it but clarity of wha we need to do and even more important- why we do it is key.· Reply
Jeff Brinker 6y
Host·Sifu
When you say "it", what are you referring to? I am not in agreement that we have not been communicating consistently throughout the past 5 years. The posting I referred to at the beginning of the meeting is proof of that. We discuss this stuff almost every meeting. I am not sure how to make it more clear than "NO PYLONS ON DECK". Or " PERSON UP FRONT LEADS, THE REST TEACH". Or "WE'RE ALL PART OF THE SAME TEAM, NOT A BUNCH OF INDIVIDUAL INSTRUCTORS."
The fact that we have discussed this a lot over the years tells me that this is not an interpretation thing as I would expect there to be questions if people do not understand. I believe this to be an inertia thing. People tend to do what they always do unless acted upon by an outside force. I believe the problem is that I am not motivating people enough to actually comply. We spend more energy in finding compromises or new approaches since the old one (the one that people failed to comply with) did not work.· Reply
Jeff Brinker 6y
Host·Sifu
Case in point. How many times have we discussed the need for people to actually comment on a post in order to get notifications and be aware of the continuing conversation? Yet here we are, the same four people having the same conversation with the rest blissfully unaware. People continue to Cheer but they stay ignorant of what is actually being discussed. This is not a lack of communication or understanding of what is needed. This is something else altogether.
· Reply
Jeff Brinker 6y
Host·Sifu
As far as meetings go, I believe they need to take place before class rather than after class. After class requires people keeping in front of them what they have failed to keep in front of themselves for the past 5 years and apply it in the next class. Obviously before class is not possible because of everyone's schedules so all we can do is hope meetings more often generate the results we desire.
· Reply
Khona Rybak 6y
Host
Agreed. To be clear, I think communication is lacking between us, not you and us. Agree that after classes isn't ideal but it's a step in the right direction.
