Learning to Adapt
Learning to Adapt
Here at True Balance Karate in Downers Grove, Illinois, we have a social-emotional learning program called True Character. I’m Master H, the owner and chief instructor here at the studio. I have two master’s degrees in education, and we’ve developed this curriculum to meet the needs of our youngest students, who are three or four, and our oldest student, who is 85.
This month we are talking about adaptability. I’m willing and able to change. Last week we defined what it was—what adaptability basically is. This week we’re talking about how we learn to adapt and dig a little deeper into what having an open mind looks like.
Being Open-Minded
Learning to adapt is a skill that I think we learn throughout all of our lives. As someone with two kids in their late teens—one’s about to turn 20—they both tell you I’m a little set in my ways. I like the dishwasher loaded a certain way. When somebody else loads it, I wind up rearranging it as it goes through, which is not a very adaptable thing to do. So I have had to learn to just let that go. I have adapted my thinking in terms of, if you’ve loaded it, please just put the soap in and turn it on, because if I go to add a spoon, then I can’t help myself.
It’s one of those things where, well, how do I adapt? Obviously, it’s a good thing that they’re helping by loading it, but it’s a bad thing if I’m sitting there going, “You didn’t do it right.” I need to have an open mind and recognize the bigger picture.
I’m sharing that because, as adults, we get a little set in our ways, and we’re still that way. I have used that to teach my own kids, “Hey, Mom’s the same as you.” We all have to work on our adaptability. We all have to work on our flexible thinking.
Learning to Adapt
How do we learn to do this? Here’s a prime example of when I was working on mine. They get to see that process along the way. The best way to help, at least in my opinion, kids and adults to be adaptable is to help them learn from each other, help them observe one another. That gives them a chance to open their mind to other ways of doing things. It helps them expand their knowledge of other ways and grow the flexibility side of their thinking if they’ve had that moment of learning from somebody else around them.
As we’re learning how to adapt, what we’re actually doing is picking up problem-solving skills. We’re picking up observation skills. We’re picking up knowledge-based skills so we can figure out that there’s not just one way to load the dishwasher.
How else can we do it? Another way kids understand this is: you really want to play video games, but your friend really wants to draw and color. How do we adapt? How do we compromise? How do we find the middle ground so that we can both get what we want to do?
Maybe one day we do one thing, and one day we do the other. Maybe it’s setting a timer for 30 minutes and then another timer for 30 minutes. One of those ways helps them understand that it’s just not always their way. They have to be willing to make a little change. They have to be willing to have an open mind and maybe give a little.
Using Comparisons
Another part of adaptability is not being so set in our thinking that the only good food is chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. Anybody with picky eaters will understand what I’m talking about. If we’re adaptable, we’ve got that open-minded thinking of, well, I like mac and cheese, which is pasta, so I might like spaghetti noodles because it’s also the same thing. Now we can adapt things a little bit. We can draw those conclusions and help them see the similarities while also expanding their thinking at the same time.
Adaptability is really about being aware. It’s really about having a willingness to take in some new knowledge. It’s about having flexible thinking as you’re going along. That’s just a few ideas of how to teach and learn adaptability.
Thanks, and I’ll see you on the mat!
True Balance Karate was founded in 2012 by Master Sue and Paul Helsdon.
We offer kids karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up. These lessons are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need — specialized for their age group — for school excellence and later success in life.
Our adult martial arts training is a complete adult fitness and conditioning program for adults who want to lose weight, get (and stay) in shape, or learn self-defense in a supportive environment.
Instructors can answer questions or be contacted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 630-663-2000. You can also contact us here. True Balance Karate is at 406 Ogden Ave Downers Grove Illinois, 60515 (next to CVS) Check out our Facebook!
