Children’s Curriculum-Transition
The success of the children’s curriculum is totally dependent on how well you manage the transition of introducing the program.
Changes dictated from the master instructor to the students are often met with resistance, confusion, and in the case of parents, resentment and unhappiness.
Parents want success for their children. When the instructor suddenly changes the requirements for rank or advancement, some parents will feel their child has “wasted time” learning the previous material.
Start the transition by presenting it to the leadership team. The introduction of new material to the leadership team will be exciting and appreciated. Not only will the leadership team enjoy the process, but the instructor will have an opportunity to work out how he or she wants to present the material.
The new curriculum first begins with the white belt students. Since they know the least amount of material, it will not be a “change” to them. The material will simply follow them up the ranks.
For the current under-ranks, begin to introduce elements of the new program, but they should not be made requirements until the instructor is confident that the school is comfortable with the material.
Portions of the old material can then be phased out and replaced with the new material over the course of the next few exams.
The general rule of thumb is the shorter a period of time the student has been in the school, the more receptive he is to change.
Conversely, the upper-ranking students are used to a certain methodology and the fact they are still students indicates they enjoy it. The upper ranks are in the school because they like the way things are; they are most sensitive to change.
Often the best strategy is to recruit them, much like the leadership team, into the process.
Although it can be expected that the upper ranks may have emotionally driven responses at first, given time and a well-managed transition, everyone will begin to enjoy the benefits of what is being taught, especially how it is being taught.