Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Good morning crew,

Funny, but the more I teach little kids the less I seem to understand them.

Some kids are motivated and eager to learn, while certain others are...let's just say less motivated. They like to talk. They don't like to listen. They certainly don't like to practice. And they consume a LOT of attention. This last problem is a big one when there is a class full of 12 or 15 students who all need to be taught something different.

But the end to their suffering (and mine) comes with black belt testing. We had one about three weeks ago and there were three poor kids in particular who have been suffering through classes for years who finally tested.

A lot of kids become disinterested in taekwondo after a few months, or maybe a year, and quit. Which is understandable. It is a lot of hard work and in no way resembles a 'Karate Kid' movie. But for reasons of their own, these parents pushed their kids to finish no matter what.

And I can understand that too. It is a commitment, and after dumping so much time and money into it some parents just want their kids to finish what they started. The kids may hate it, but as long as their parents' checks clear it is my job to make sure that their kids can stand up during testing and demonstrate the fundamentals required for a black belt.

But once that is done, any motivation both the parents and the kids have to finish is gone and we don't usually see them again. I was sure that was going to be the case for these three youngsters.

But for some inexplicable, incomprehensible reason, all three have come back and signed up for classes to earn their second degree black belts.

I thought that maybe the pride and sense of accomplishment in earning their first degree might have finally changed their attitudes toward taekwondo, but they are about a month into the new program and they are just as recalcitrant and uncooperative as ever

My question is; Why? Why come back? But I think I have the answer.

They hate me and they're doing it to spite me.

Laugh it up,

Joe

joe@gophercentral.com

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"The women's school district in New Hampshire has officially banned dodge ball because parents complained their kids were being targeted during games which, of course, is the point of dodge ball." -Jimmy Kimmel

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"A new report says that San Francisco is the most expensive city for single people in the U.S., due to the cost of gym memberships, date nights, and clothing. So if you don't mind being overweight, alone and naked, San Francisco is actually quite affordable." -Jimmy Fallon

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"A man in the U.K. Is in hot water with his wife because the Google street view camera caught him having a cigarette in their driveway after he claimed to have quit smoking. If you're trying to not get caught doing something, maybe go somewhere that's not six feet from your front door." -James Corden

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Once upon a time, there were four people; Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody.

Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Somebody would do it, but Nobody realized that Nobody would do it.

So consequently Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.


*-------------- Guaranteed to Roll Your Eyes --------------*
Did you hear about the two guys who decided to try duck hunting? They bought new outfits & equipment, and went out to a place in the woods where they heard the hunting was really good. But after several hours of thrashing through the woods, one fellow said, "I don't know about this. We've been out here all day and haven't caught a single duck. Do you think we're doing something wrong?"

"I don't know," replied the other. "Maybe we're not throwing the dog high enough."