Goooooooood morning, Circus Land!  Topic: should beginning circus instructors be paired with beginner circus students? Let’s discuss!

For the purpose of this post, let’s narrow the field a bit. I don’t teach children (COOTIES), so I can’t speak knowledgeably about them – they’re a specialty all their own. Let’s stick to beginning adult students in circus and teachers striking out on their own for the first time to teach solo.

I’ve often heard new or inexperienced teachers say some variation of, “…. I’ve only been teaching xyz (tiny amount of time), but it’s fine – I’m only teaching beginners.”

….. ONLY teaching beginners? See, this is where I start to squirm.

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Pairing the least experienced instructor with the population MOST at risk for injury? What could go wrong?

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Beginners are a Specialty

I get really protective of newbies because I LOVE THEM. Give me ALL the beginners! If you’ve never touched an apparatus, fan-freaking-tastic – that only means I don’t have to break you of any bad habits. It also means I have more responsibility than lots of folks realize. Consider:

• Beginner adults – bless them – make terrible choices. TERRIBLE CHOICES. They let go when they should hang on, panic and flail, and generally do the opposite of everything you just asked them to do. It’s part of learning as an adult. Brand new coaches without enough practical experience working with beginners often have no idea how to anticipate these “exciting moments”.
• You’re setting THE foundation. You don’t get a do-over on this – a crummy foundation means a looooooot of retraining down the road. New coaches are often still finding their timing for giving cues, corrections, and sometimes progressions; this can lead to bad habits that take YEARS to train out of a student.
• Beginners tend to have a smaller margin for error. As a coach, it takes time to get your feet under you when you start working with actual bodies. Intermediate students will still need your help, but they’re generally less likely to self-destruct while you’re helping someone else. Students who have a good foundation in the basics (vocabulary, safety, and knowing their limitations) can give instructors the time they need to acclimate to teaching their own class.

A Different Idea for Progression

SO. You’re a brand new teacher with several years of training under your belt, just out of a good circus teaching program. CONGRATULATIONS! Teaching circus is about the most rewarding (and insanely frustrating, but mostly rewarding) thing ever. CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE!

• Your teacher training included hands-on assistant coaching under a strong instructor. Great! With the blessing of your coach, venture forth into the world of circus torture – er, training. I would strongly suggest that, even if you had time with beginners, you start with advanced beginner/intermediate students. This time is GOLD! This is your time to find your style, voice, and emerging philosophy as a coach. Slightly more advanced students will give you an opportunity to breathe, practice, and experiment a bit to see what works for your population.
• Your teacher training did NOT include a practicum – you haven’t actually had that much hands-on time with students. This is not a problem – everyone starts somewhere! Find a good coach who will let you assistant teach, or contact a studio that offers opportunities to apprentice. There is no better way to get your feet wet (or your hands chalked) than by being mentored by a fantastic teacher! Jump right in and learn learn learn. Take notes after class on everything from verbal cues to spotting and progressions. Take special note of major mistakes new students make (inverting with the fabric between their legs instead of to the side, for example) – you’ll see them again and again.

Everyone should continue to, at least periodically, take classes from other instructors. It’s phenomenally helpful for me as a coach to see how other classes are structured, how other teachers cue and spot, what they do that seems to really work, what doesn’t, etc. I’ve learned more about teaching from being a student than I EVER imagined I would! If you’re in an area where taking someone else’s class will start WW3, try taking a class outside your usual discipline that won’t cause drama – ain’t nobody got time for that.

There are always exceptions to every rule – the person who is ready to teach a year after touching a trapeze (they’re rare like unicorns, but I’ve met a few), the person who was BORN to teach beginners from day 1, the studio who has a rock-solid coaching program with great results that uses an alternative progression for it’s teachers, the person who – even AFTER 15 years of classes, 4 teacher trainings, and 6 years of assistant coaching – is still having a routh time communicating ideas. 

As long as you teach (and especially the first few years), your students will school ya good. You’re never, ever done learning how to be a great coach, and I think an important part of that journey is being paired with the right students at the right time. So, if you’re a brand new coach setting off on your own, I urge you to think through your starting place carefully – “beginner” may not be where it’s at. Love and pull-ups, Laura