We would like to share a beautiful success story that climaxed with great results, to the joy of one of our most dedicated families. For the purposes of this story we will use the name Trevor to keep our student’s anonymity.
Trevor has been working out at our studio for a very long time. Starting about a couple of years ago we realized quickly that he had a knack for martial arts, as he is a very strong boy. He enjoys sparring, and specially grappling. He goes to a local school, his parents are wonderful people and fellow business owners who work from sunrise to sundown, usually picking him up at the very end of business. They work long hours, so Trevor usually spends a lot of time at the studio, most of the time doing homework.
A lot of parents in our school do not realize that a Martial Arts academy is not simply focused on teaching Karate, it is about building every part of a person’s self esteem, their skills, and helping them become greater citizens. We happily offer space for our students to do their homework while waiting for their classes, which gives them a time to focus on this important work without any distractions. Anyone can grab a chair and start working, access to internet is free of charge, and they are constantly monitored by our instructors.
We recently got a question from a parent that brought up a good point: “How is it that students focus on doing homework while classes are loud in the studio?”. She was right. After considering all the students that currently follow this model, we realized that the more time they spend there, the more normal sounds of the studio become almost like white noise to them. They are very much used to it, but unlike their home, they are not called to do anything else by anyone, no parents, no siblings, just the senseis and students who do the class on the background.
Trevor is one of these cases. After monitoring his grades lightly for a time, his parents came with great concern that he was slipping and not turning in all of his work. They even considered pulling him out of training, which would have been disastrous. Taking a kid out of an activity is not necessarily the answer, he would lose all the work he already finished, plus he would learn nothing in the process.
We spoke to Trevor about this situation, and after several talks like these we invited him to join our Homework Club. This is a group of students that meet once a week with one of our senseis, similar to a private lesson, in which we spend some private time with the student only focusing on homework and upcoming projects. They have a chance to ask questions, and time to plan for their week. Trevor really needed this type of help. His mom was happy as she did not need to take him to different tutor. Having tutoring at the studio meant that she could drop him off early and pick him up later, as he would get all his work done right before coming back home.
The road was not easy, and plenty of time and effort came together into assisting Trevor with his subjects. Failing grades turned to Cs and Bs and his worse subjects were not the worse anymore. With the looming issue that his belt might be taken away at the end of the semester if he did not improve, Trevor worked tirelessly and finally achieved his goal.
His teacher sent him a note just a couple of days ago, that came in an official school envelope. He was under threat of repeating a year, so receiving this letter from the school was particularly fearful, but we knew that Trevor’s efforts would not come in vain. He did not have to repeat his grade and could move on with his schooling.
Trevor’s grades are by no means perfect, but they reflect the work that he put into it. His mom was overjoyed and thanked us for our work. We realize that this was truly a collaborative effort, as we cannot be there in school next to Trevor telling him to focus, but giving him a space without distractions where he feels comfortable, yet not so comfortable to fall asleep or to turn on the television, giving him dedicated, professional and college educated instructors, was definitely an assist he desperately needed.
We value Trevor’s work and look forward to him finally testing for his next rank. Congratulations.
If you are interested in being a part of the Homework Club, simply email us to sensei@karatemv.com.
