Old Dogs Can Learn

Allow me to introduce Mahmet

Mahmet is from Turkey and is 2-1/2 years old. The day we met, I thought he was 3, per the information supplied to me from the booking. That first day, I thought I had totally lost my touch with kids, or that maybe Mahmet was just really small and a little underdeveloped in a couple ways, but we still had a pretty good time. I found out he was 2-1/2 after the lesson from his mother's instructor. I have always appreciated the things I learned about teaching kids from Rachel Milner, Amy Zahm and Jodi Taggart in the PSIA-NW Children's Specialist events, but the stuff really helped Mahmet and I out this week! 6 months doesn't seem like a big difference in age, but the real differences between these two ages are quite important to be aware of and make adjustments for. I ended up realizing that Mahmet was in no way underdeveloped or "behind" in anything... quite the opposite actually. I also found out that though I have not been teaching enough children during the more recent years of my career, the time I have spent on continuing education has been very valuable. Also, I have not lost my touch with kids, I just need more practice.

2-1/2 year old kids need food
and drink more often than most 3 yr. olds

Look at that face! Happy that someone understood.
Banana, water and a cookie that did not pass inspection.

Mahmet is learning English in a school in Turkey already (he speaks Russian too), but I really had to work hard to figure out what he needed/wanted sometimes. I ended up emptying my backpack AND my pockets several times, but as long as I was looking for his answer, Mahmet did not cry. He really only cried if he tried to communicate and I didn't at least try to understand. It made all the difference to determine if it was a need or a want. A couple things I learned about Mahmet:

- He is far more interested in waxing our skis than he is in stuffed animals. He carried around my chunk of emergency wax from my pack for two days and NEVER even tried to put it in his mouth!
- When I give him a cookie, he breaks it open, inspects it and if it does not meet his standards he prefers fresh fruit. Later, when he has thought about the cookie long enough the broken one is mine. Mahmet gets a fresh one (which takes 5 runs and 30 minutes to eat while skiing). I really wish I had taken a picture when Mahmet decided our break was over, then put his skis on while carrying the entire package of cookies, fully intending to take them skiing. I was surprised when he asked me to get just one out for him.

Check this out! Mahmet tests all the adjustments on my field glasses.
Who could have guessed a fully stocked BC pack would be so useful?
Too bad I didn't get pics of our shovel rides.

Mahmet scopes out a military aircraft dogfight training scenario, true story.

When I started teaching at Mission Ridge, my first year as a full-timer I taught a lot of kids. At the time, I thought I was just paying dues. Later, Loretta Schroeder pointed out that Calvin did this to his noob full-timers because an instructor who is successful teaching kids is really learning how to teach. With adults, a teacher might think they are teaching well with lots of explanations or telling people "what to do", but with kids, especially young ones, it just doesn't work like that. Demonstrations, realistic goals, activities or games that create success... etc. are all necessary. Calvin gave us kids to help us! Mahmet is doing this for me again, in a way. I have to admit, though I was happy for the work, I was a little scared to take on a 3- year old (much less 2-1/2 year old) for a week. Why? Because over the last several years it has been apparent to me the that I had moved away from teaching kids so much that much younger, or "less experienced" instructors were doing a much better job with groups of kids than I could on any given day. Here I am in a new place, having pedaled around a very well put together resume (thanks Jojo!) and it was time to prove it on the beginner hill with the rest of the instructors there to see it all!

Then he scoped lines through the cliffs and chutes above La Marlenaz

Object Permanence! That says it all!

Maybe it is a Turkish thing, maybe not, but as much as Mahmet is the same as other kids I have taught, he is different. I have new respect for functioning in the realm of Object Permanence after teaching a 2-1/2 yr old for the better part of a week. I drew the line at the camera and the phone. No touching these. Mahmet though, would NOT give up on the phone. He knows the word telephone, and he knows exactly where I keep it. What I ended up doing was reaching into my phone pocket and slipping it up the backside of my sleeve, then letting him inspect all of my pockets during our last break. He inspected the phone pocket 4 times! I resorted to this after well over an hour of "telephone" requests. When this kid makes a decision, he sticks to it! The first day was all Mahmet. He made almost all the decisions.

Not fair, people call the cops if adults lay down
for a rest when the feeling strikes!

Life can be so good! Checking out the scene after
ripping it up for an hour. We chased the balloon around
on our skis, He even rode it like a hippity-hop, on skis!

So far Mahmet has always gotten back up and gotten his skis back on after our breaks, though some of them have been a bit long. He has good decision making skills. I noticed this after I quit trying to rush or push his decisions. Eating, bringing one cookie skiing instead of the package, when to rest, when to ski. He has a process, but he needs the time to go through it too. I had to tough it out through some "I WANT" tears. I had stationed a series of rubber cones around the teaching area and hidden certain known and unknown items under the cones. We took 3 runs just touching each cone before Mahmet discovered our treasured block of wax under the cone highest on the hill. This is where Object Permanence matters. On an alpine ski hill, the best way back to the desired cone is not always the straight line. Furthermore, if your instructor is out of practice, or the hill too big, you might have to get used to leaving the cone behind FOREVER because you can't even SEE it anymore. It took 3 heartbreaking rides up the carpet back to the treasure cones before Mahmet got even a little used to the idea.

Epilogue:
WEEKDAY AT BERNIE'S

This is Bernie. He is Austrian.
Bernie loves to get home to his
terrace for beers in the sunshine.

This is Matthias. He is German and loves
baseball. He coached it for many years.
When we met he called me Stan the Man
and knew who I meant when I said
"That is who I am named after."

This is me. I am happy to be out of my boots.
I have been skiing in boots that are too small for
too long. I want no more of it. Comfort please!