NM Teacher Training follows Renewal

Nov. 3, 5 – 10

By Noel Altman, Course Co-Host

On Saturday, Nov. 3, the New Mexico TCC Center sponsored a day-long Teacher Renewal for 22 attendees, both local teachers and those from as far away as Alaska, Washington state, Arizona, California and Missouri. This was a day to focus on our practice of the form as Ed (with help from Justin) led us through the finer aspects of how to move.

For myself, the combination of what Ed said about moving softly and then what Justin said about the same concept caused a shift in me that had a real effect on how softly I was moving. Actually, it was quite amazing! I don’t think I have ever moved as softly! I hesitate to put it into words because it took in my body in a way that wasn’t verbal and I am working in each practice now to regain that state of mind and hence, bodily expression.

This is the first TCC Teacher Training I have attended where we first had a Teacher Renewal and boy was it helpful to take that time to focus on our own practice first before turning our attention on Monday to 15 teacher candidates!

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After a long week of applied effort (and letting go), 15 candidates graduated from the Teacher Training course. Four certificates were withheld as those candidates were asked to work longer with a teacher before beginning to teach.

The group was a sincere bunch and they bonded with each other quickly as the majority of them showed up for the optional morning practice before the course and the optional evening sessions where they were able to receive one-on-one help from auditing teachers. I want to especially thank Ray Payne (from Washington state), Pam Towne and Roberta Taggart (from California), local teacher Amy Tyksinski, Gale Portman (from Missouri), and Nancy Jo Bleier (from Alaska) for helping during the evening sessions.

Auditors who helped during the entire week were: local teacher Carmen Brocklehurst and Toni Corrigan (from Arizona). Also there much of the time were local teachers Beverly McFarland and Ann Rutherford and Canadian teacher Margo Carpenter, down from Edmonton, AB to visit Albuquerque for a TCC event for the third time this year! What dedication!

Nine other local teachers showed up for some part of the training and we were glad to have them.

Justin came almost every day and offered his viewpoint and suggestions for how to move. He stressed the fact that one must move well to be able to teach — it is not enough to be sincere. To focus on the needs of the students, a teacher must be confident in the way he/she moves when in front of a class of students (instead of paying too much attention to doing his/her own movements).

Justin has a very strict way of teaching, but I have seen him get results over and over with his methods. On the morning of graduation, in front of the whole group and speaking to Justin himself, one of the candidates and one of the auditors movingly expressed their frustrations with his remarks earlier in the week (when he explicitly corrected them in stern tones) and then their total shift in state of mind as they processed the input. The auditor said she had finally felt her T’an T’ien “open up” for the first time ever as a direct result of his remarks. “Thank you, Justin,” she said, with tears in her eyes.

Ed and Justin have very different teaching styles, but they both have the same aim. The two together made this a unique training.

Throughout the week, I heard comments over and over from the candidates about how the training had exceeded their expectations — that they couldn’t believe how much they were learning!

Because there were so many struggling to pass during this week, Ed opened up a discussion between the candidates, the auditors and himself on Friday afternoon, and suggestions were made on how to improve the process by which candidates are admitted into the course, and how to better prepare them to attend in the future. It appears that some changes may ensue.

The Teacher Renewal was hosted by Ann Rutherford. The Teacher Training course hosting duties were split between Richard Tye, a board member of the TCC Center, Uly and Caroline Messier, former board members of the TCC Center, and myself. The events were a fundraiser for the TCC Center and all hosting work was done on a volunteer basis.

Uly and Caroline handled the scheduling of the events and the meeting rooms, as well as the hotel rooms for those coming from out of town. They also handled all aspects of registration and helped compile the welcome packets from the TCC Center.

Richard and I co-hosted during the week of the training. While I focused on the movements of the candidates and making sure they got the extra help they desired during the hours before and after the course, Richard focused on the comfort of the candidates — making sure they had welcome packets at the hotel when they arrived, transportation to and from the hotel and the Center, that the Center was always open early (and late), and that they knew where they could eat at nearby restaurants. He made sure the meeting room stayed comfortable during the training, and even set up the room and broke it down each night (so local teachers could walk in to teach their evening classes and not find the room any different than usual). He cleaned up the facilities in the Center each day (even vacuuming)! He also hosted the Thursday night video showing of Justin’s 1998 talk at Folsom State Prison in CA and assisted on Wednesday night with Ed and myself in meeting with every candidate to assess their progress. Lastly, Richard took photos during the training week for The Vital Force.

Thank you to all the candidates, some of whom worked harder than I’ve ever seen a candidate work, but who simply have farther to go before they’ll be fully ready to teach. To all of you: you know what it is you’re working on — keep going! Come audit Teacher Training courses and attend other TCC events so that your progress doesn’t stop! As Ed said, completing your Teacher Training is just the beginning. A good teacher is one who remains an earnest student!