I know. It’s been over a month since my last post. It hasn’t been because I didn’t have anything to write about. On the contrary. Reality is that other club projects have kept me away from my keyboard. I finally have some breathing room, so here we go again.
A long talk with my daughter yesterday is prompting me to talk about a situation all coaches encounter: how to handle complacency, poor work ethic and sloppy Judo that our kids exhibit from time to time. This is often prevalent in children who have recently been promoted and now feel they can cruise until the next promotion. The solution, which my daughter and her husband have recently instituted at SoCal Judo, is to temporarily demote students until their attitude and work ethic improve.
When she first told me that, red flags went up. Demote kids! Are you kidding me? But upon further discussion, I could see the value in this approach. Here’s how it works. When sloppy Judo, inattention or poor work ethic become an issue, after several warnings a student has all his stripes or color belt taken away in front of the class. As soon as the student rights his ship- this might be within a few lessons- the stripes or belt is returned in a ceremony in front of the class and attending parents with appropriate comments from the coach as to what behavior was modified. My daughter calls this a learning moment for everyone.
What about the parents? Are they freaking out when little Johnny or Jane is demoted in front of the class? Are they concerned about their kids’ self-esteem? Are the families heading out the door to a club where Johnny and Jane won’t be traumatized for the rest of their life? On the contrary, my daughter informs me that the parents are digging it. Of course, she explained to the parents the rationale behind the program. If promotion helps motivation, then demotion might help fight complacency. What parent who spends good money on education wants to see his child on cruise control? It also helps that her parents are not wimps. They want to see their children challenged.
What about the results of the “take away” approach. So far, so good. Losing stripes or a belt has definitely lit fires and produced attitude adjustments. As expected, kids redouble their efforts, pay better attention, and regain their lost status symbols rather quickly. What remains to be seen is how often the learning tool will have to be used.
I know this type of program goes against everything that the “self-esteem” movement believes in. And that’s a refreshing change in our education culture. We’ve coddled our children far too much for far too long. The success of this behavior modification program hinges on coaches explaining why you lose a belt or your stripes, and how you gain them back. While this approach may not work with every child- what program or therapy does?- you may want to experiment with it in your own club. Keep an open mind and don’t dismiss it out of hand.
Coach Lafon,
I wholeheartedly agree with this approach. The only caveat I might offer is that the demotion not be a public spectacle. I have spent years learning learning about leadership in the military and one of the most important principles I have learned is to “praise in public and punish in private.” It is not often that a subordinate is publicly punished, this is usually reserved for particularly egregious offenses or when the lesson just isn’t being learned by the whole.
I hope to see this implemented soon, with clear guidelines as to the number of warnings and how the “de-striping” process will work. With the promotion comes higher expectations, more responsibility, and greater accountability. It is the leaders to be lost or retained.
There’s a fine line between “in public” and “public spectacle.” Sometimes, I think modern psychology (the touchy-feely type) has gone too far toward assuaging feelings. “Shame” used to be a strong element of our culture, and as you know, it remains a big part of Asian culture. Unfortunately, it has almost completely disappeared from our behavior modification toolbox, and I regret that it has. As with any teaching tool, no method works with every student. Thus, we should be judicious in our use of behavior modification methods. Since we are dealing with kids, the success of these methods, including the “once in a blue moon” use of public spectacle hinges on the commitment and understanding of the support group, i.e. parents.