HOW TO GET THE BEST OUT OF A COVER TEACHER

Cover teachers, substitute instructors. Sometimes we love them sometimes we really really loathe them. Sometimes they give us so little, we have to complain. Why does this happen and when we’re disappointed, what can we do to get the best out of class? Welcome to How the get the best out of a cover teacher. The answer might surprise you.

I started out teaching Pilates cover classes. I remember the first few privates went well but then came the group classes. I was no stranger to teaching groups but sure enough, the head instructor who normally ran that class, called me the next week asking how the class went, did I teach a similar class to hers? Yes, I even followed her regime to a T. Perhaps I wasn’t enthusiastic enough or didn’t cue right? I had been smiling, engaging, cueing the best I knew how but it was not enough and I had been complained about by a couple of people. The complaints were non-specific and left me with no guideline as to how to change. This felt all too familiar. I was reminded of the time I substituted English overseas. Some of the classes went very well but there was this one class I always dreaded being forced to sub for, an older man’s class. No student in that class liked me. However, my own classes went fine, I even recruited students for the school and other sub classes went well. I had eventually learnt it was simply because I was not him. Here, once again I was facing the same problem. I called a good friend in distress who was a long-time professional dance and Pilates instructor. What she suggested blew my mind. ‘The body can only handle 6-8% of change on average. So even if you teach everything the same, it is possible, your tone of voice, your accent, might be affecting their physiological experience.’

I decided to do an experiment. I went back the next week and mustering all my acting skills, I not only ran that same class again, exercises and all but, I also mimicked my head instructors’ flowery bright high-pitched tone. It was ludicrous on me. I had practiced before, recording myself and knew how unlike me it sounded. But I did it anyway. Right after class, a student, possibly one of my accusers, came up to me and complimented me, ‘That was so much better!’ The only thing I had altered in comparison to the last week was my tone and flow of voice to match that senior instructor.

With that story being told, let’s look at this from an instructors’ perspective. It might help you to know that often substitute Pilates teachers do not get told what the other teacher teaches when they ask, which is really the fault of that studio so, they will simply teach what they feel is best and try adjust it on the spot when observing the students. Of course, there are some sub teachers that, you just won’t like their style or exercises and unfortunately, there are a few bad apples. So, how can you get the best out of a class that is being subbed when you don’t like it, regardless of the reason?

1.       Become a detective. Look for new things. Don’t write the class off immediately if you think it is too hard or too easy. Listen to what the teacher is saying rather than being overly focused on the exercise or letting your mind wander because you are unhappy. You may find a pearl of wisdom in there that you can bring to your future classes. You may find a question you want to bring back to your regular instructor with whom you have a trusting relationship.

2.       Be enthusiastic. You may learn a new sequence or get to visit an old exercise you left behind. With something new, be sure to pay attention to the teachers instructions or demonstrations and keep a mental note yourself. With an old exercise you think you are too good for, you can monitor your progress since you first started and congratulate yourself.

3.       Be creative. In a large group setting, teachers can only give so much individual attention and a sub teacher may be more careful about who they correct which, gives you the opportunity to take advantage of being out from under their eye. If you’ve been taking class a while you will know how you can challenge yourself or do the exercise your way.

4.       Take charge. If you end up with a sub who you genuinely think is bad, as in they are potentially going to hurt you with what they want you to do, just ignore them. It’s your class. Noone can force you to do far too many clams if you don’t want to.

5.       Give feedback immediately. If you know this instructor is going to be subbing for more than a few weeks and they don’t seem like an arrogant prat, thank them after class and offer some insight. We will usually ask you anyway. Don’t feel the need to say you liked the class but go ahead and complain to the studio. It’s not helpful for even you, as the studio will go find another sub who you might also not like.

A few good lines could be,

• ‘I found the class to be harder/easier than usual’;

• ‘I’m one of the strongest/weakest/ more average students in the class so I found the class to be xxxxx’ or;

• ‘I found xxx different from our other instructor. Can you explain why xx was done this way? I’m really interested.’

This will give a substitute teacher a great guideline for the next class with your group.

If you follow even one of these steps, I guarantee you will find that you will get something out of the substitute instructor even if you didn’t like them or enjoy their class. Go forth and enjoy your next Pilates class!