Aerial Teacher Training - Session One

Hello everyone! Really excited to be starting this journey with you all. It is, as always, an absolute pleasure to have you on the team and I can't wait to add some more qualified aerial instructors to the Rainbow Circus CIC team.

At the start of this journey, I feel it is pertinent to ask whether you've all bought a nice new notebook for this adventure! Record keeping is super important, and you're all going to want a space to keep your thoughts recorded, your progress annotated and space for doodling is important, too. Later on in my instructor journey, I found lined paper was unhelpful due to the need to draw diagrams & figures, so I do recommend starting with dotted or cubed paper in order to facilitate this as we move through the programme.

So, without further ado, I give you - SESSION ONE! 

---

Why teach?

This first session, we are focusing on our very own Pedagogy.

Pedagogy - the method and practice of teaching, especially as an academic subject or theoretical concept

We are going to sit with ourselves and answer a few simple questions that should give us all an idea about *why* we want to do this in the first place. We all know that Circus is an art form that we came across at some point in our lives, and then started to feel incredibly passionate about. For most of us, it becomes quite pre-occupying and before we know it we're deep in the rabbit hole. 

Question One - What or who inspired you to take on this challenging art form?
Question Two - What or who kept you going?

Then suddenly, we're almost addicted and it's all we can think about. Your mind starts wandering to different combinations, routine ideas, costume potential and all the magical opportunities we might get to share this with other people. Teaching, however, is very different and it comes from a place of service and wanting to share with others. 

Y / N   Do you enjoy working with people?
Y / N   Are you a nurturing person?
Y / N   Are you a curious person? 
Y / N   ​Do you find it easy to communicate?
Y / N   Does sharing knowledge bring you joy or satisfaction?
Y / N   Do you have a knack for explaining things to others?
Y / N   Do you have a strong foundation in what you wish to teach?
Y / N   Are you interested in the human body and how it works?
Y / N   Are you observant and enjoy watching and analysing movement?
Y / N   Do you enjoy breaking down movements into smaller chunks?
Y / N   Do you enjoy celebrating the success of others?

If you have answered yes to most or all of the above questions, then it is quite likely that teaching is for you!
Any questions that you answered no to are likely to be areas of growth for you. Ensure you've recorded these questions & answers in your notebook elaborate where you can and keep them safe for future reflection.

Question Three - How has aerial training affected you as a person? (or has it?)
Question Four - What life lessons has aerial taught you so far?

After answering these questions in your notebook, please write a testimonial explaining why this matters to you & demonstrate understanding of your journey so far. 

We will share these with each other in our next Aerial Teacher Training Zoom, date tbc. Please vote on the poll in the WhatsApp Group Chat.

With Love, Luck & Rainbows,

Rosie 
​
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜