Observing some classes.

I am currently trying to change my career path towards teaching more than performing. Not completely taking performing out of my life, but looking ahead into the future I would like when I am no longer able to perform, to teach.

I don't have much teaching experience, therefore am trying to build it up and if I am not teaching learn things by observing classes and other teachers.

Last Tuesday I went into a School and observed a trampolining class put on especially for 3 autistic children. I knew before I went into the class that it would be taken differently than if it were a group of children who did not have autism but I was really speechless once I was in the room. I have never really seen many autistic children before and the teacher explained to me before they came into the room how there are many different levels of autism and that these children had a high level of it.

Previously a couple of days before I had watched the same teacher take a group of 15, 8 year old girls for a trampolining party. I watched how he controlled the class, made sure they had fun but also was fully aware of there safety as obviously trampolining can be very dangerous if not taken seriously.

From the minute the children with autism entered the room the style of teaching was completely different. The teacher almost was not a teacher if that makes any sense. And he had only 3 children in the room instead of 15 and the level of his concentration was the same, if not higher,
The children's parents were this time present in the room at all times and the teacher was very hands on with the children. Not just telling them what they had to do and were they needed to be but physically moving them. He was firm but not too firm and he interacted on a one to one basis with each child almost most of the time. The level of patience required by the teacher in this session was hundred percent more than in the previous class I had seen.

Even though for most of the time the children were just bouncing up and down I seen how rewarding it was for both the teacher and the parents when they done something they were told, something so small as just sit on your bottom on the trampoline was a big achievement for them. The parents were so grateful for the teachers time and patience he had with their children.

I spoke to the parents during the class and I found them inspiring. They were so happy that this session had been put on just for their children because they said it is so hard when they are in a class full of all other children who don't understand this disadvantage that there children have.
They did nothing but praise the teacher of how he had helped there children come along in a matter of a few weeks.

I am now really interested once I start to teach more into also teaching children with autism and other disabilities. It will be interesting to see how as a teacher you have to take a different approach to teaching different children. It seems to be very rewarding to the children, parents and teacher.