Teaching

As I mentioned earlier I truly enjoy skiing and now that I have the opportunity to provide children with an opportunity to develop a pleasure in skiing also I am very excited. I remember how much fun I had as a kid racing down a ski hill aiming for every single bump and I hope that I can influence some children to do the same.

For the school programs Pakenham has a series of steps that progress never-evers from one skill to the next. The first step introduces children to their ski's, how to move around on them and how to slide on them. The second step asks the children to slide down a small slope and make a snow plow stoop. The third step is on a longer slightly steeper slope and it requires the children to make a series of snow plow stops. Step number four is further up the hill and it requires the students to follow an instructor making a series of linked snow plow turns through pylons. Once the kids have completed this step they move on to step five which is essentially the same thing but on a steeper slope that requires stronger snow plows. Step six is on a slope that is steeper and requires the kids to negotiate it by themselves controlling their speed with snow plow turns and stops. The seventh step is the last step, instructors at step seven teach the children how to ride the chair lift.

Once students have completed all of the steps they are required to do the star test. The star test requires the students to negotiate a slalom course with an instructor evaluating them. Once they have gained the instructors approval they can ride the chair lift and ski the runs on their own.

This method of teaching is most efficient way to teach hundreds of students but it is often confusing and impersonal. At every step there is a different instructor, each instructor often has their own way of teaching snow plow turns and stops. When jumping from one instructor to the next and being told different things it is easy for students to get confused. Part of the fun with teaching is for the student and instructor is the relationship they develop with each other. This relationship increases comfort levels and communication. This increase in comfort often makes learning for the student much easier and more enjoyable. When jumping from one instructor to the next it is extremely difficult if not impossible to do this. This is often not a problem, but for more introverted students it can make things really difficult. Their shyness often impedes their learning and they have trouble communicating with their instructors when no relationship has been formed.

These things said it is very difficult to see another way of teaching hundreds of students how to ski in a limited time frame. Pakanham does a decent job of managing this model and for most students it is effective. The instructors are also for the most part friendly and actively work to make their students comfortable in the time that they have. The thing that I think they could improve on is instructional uniformity. This will make skiing much less confusing for the students. It might also be worth while to dedicate one or two instructors to stay behind and work with the more introverted students through all of the steps.