Instructor in Training - Advice
Hi guys! Like it says above, I’m currently going through the process of becoming a Pilates instructor for a widely known reformer Pilates company. However…. There are some things that have me questioning and I wanted to get other people’s thoughts on this & if it was normal part of the experience.
So I’ve been in training for the past 2 months & I finally finished my test out, so now I’m onto community classes. I taught my first 2 over the weekend & the owner of the studio which I never see because they live out of state and decided to come in and take class.
Right off the bat, he walked in studio, did not acknowledge me (my friends also noticed this) & he just didn’t appear to be warm or friendly. Yet, I noticed he was talking & getting along just fine with the other staff who was there. Throughout class, he physically seemed irritated & THEN to top it all off, he kept doing the moves wrong ALL throughout class. I would understand if he was trying to test me to see if I know what I’m teaching and know what to look out for when a client is doing a move wrong. However, EVERY single move, I had to go and correct him. I think I corrected him over 10+ times in class, which is WILD to me because he literally told me he is an instructor himself. My first class ran soooo smoothly, I ended on time, the energy was high, everyone loved the class, & the one that he took, it was just the complete opposite. I also had to do a lot of corrections for my new people (which was expected), but half of my time was also spent correcting his form. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t know what I was doing. Unfortunately, because of this, I ended like a few min later than expected and it was just a very disappointing experience.
At the end, he didn’t say anything to me, so I went to go see if he enjoyed class. His only feedback to me was that I should stop correcting people if it’s been 2-3 times and they still don’t get the move. His reason was they will come back to studio regardless & get “stronger”. Is this normal????
He also said because I had the class in the variation for so long, that’s why the class went over…. Which… in my opinion, not true because my first class before that was on time and I taught all the moves AND variations so. I am good at taking feedback which I can understand and learn from the experience but I also feel like he was sort of setting me up to fail?
Anyways a few other things happened where the other instructor was staring my friends down rudely while they were doing the moves & in class because they were new to the studio & needed corrections. It made my friend feel very uncomfortable. Is this the “norm” when it comes to Pilates studios? I’ve had some weird experiences myself at other places but I guess I’m just shocked and refuse to believe that this is everywhere.
TLDR: I’m an instructor in training and did my community class, however there were some weird vibes from the owner of the studio and other staff members.