by Rosalia Gifford, Ohev Shalom of Richboro
I have really enjoyed participating in the TAP program. Through my experience, I have gained new friends and learned new ways to work with children, both in the classroom and also at my karate dojo. One technique that I have learned is how to appropriately redirect children to focus on the teacher or instructor. For instance, saying something along the lines of ¨pay attention¨ or ¨focus¨ isn’t helpful. Insead, what you should say something along the lines of ¨right now it is important to listen to what is being said so you know what we are doing.¨ This is giving the child a reason for why they are being told to do something. Another technique I have learned to use is compromise. Meaning that if the child is doing an activity that is does not pertain to what they are supposed to be doing, one thing that could be said is ¨right now we are doing this, but if we have time afterwards we could do that.¨ Throughout my experience in TAP I have enjoyed learning about new techniques and strategies that I had the opportunity to use while learning about them, and hope to continue using them in the future.