The Need For Good Leaders

The Tiny Tigers age ranges from about 5-7.  So they're pretty young.  Easily distracted and need help staying focused.  And that's on a good day.  Lol.

Even so, everything about the most recent Tiny Tigers class felt extra "high-strung" for lack of a better word.  It wasn't that anyone was being "bad" per se.  But it felt like the class was just abnormally "amp'd" up and I, as an Instructor, felt like I was on constant high alert.  

I think I realized afterwards why this was.

Due to the roads, it was a small class.  Only 6 kids.  Which you'd think would have made things easier.  But I realized later on that 5 of those 6 kids were actually our "more rambunctious" ones.  We have a few kids in the Tiny Tigers that require a lot more hands on by the instructors.  A lot more redirection.   A lot more help paying attention and re-focussing.  Great kids!  Just a lot more high-maintenance, so to speak.

And they happened to be 5 of the 6 in that class, making the ratio of leaders to followers completely out of whack.  I think I realized, from this class, just how important it is to have good leaders in a group...and to have enough good leaders to support the rest.  The leaders not only set a good example but their energy also tends to keep the class grounded.

Without good leaders, without good examples for all of us, it can be easy to lose control and let chaos reign.