What Do We Know?
What Do We Know?
Here at True Balance Karate in Downers Grove, Illinois, we have a social-emotional learning program called True Character. I’m Master H, owner and chief instructor here at the studio. I have two master’s degrees in education. I’ve been a classroom teacher for 15 years, and we’ve developed this curriculum to best meet the needs of our youngest students who are three or four and our oldest student who is 85.
Recap of Awareness
This month, we have been talking about awareness.
We started off awareness by talking about how we pay attention and ask great questions. In the beginning of the month, we talked about physical awareness, where you are in space, what people are doing, and what you’re doing physically.
Last week, we talked about our feelings, being aware of how we’re feeling, why we’re feeling that way, and then recognizing feelings in other people around us.
Intellectual Awareness
Today, we’re talking about what you know- your intellectual awareness. What do you know? What do you need to know? What questions do you have? Because remember, it’s not just about paying attention, it’s also about asking great questions.
When you’re aware, you have this idea of, “I know a little bit about this idea, but I don’t know all of this.” So I’m gonna ask these questions because, at the end of the day, there are a lot of things that we don’t know. Even the smartest person in the world has something that they don’t know.
But if we have this intellectual awareness, we’re willing to admit that we don’t know, and we’re willing to ask the question. We’re willing to try to figure out the answer. We know who the right resources are to go to. In the mat chat, we’re gonna talk about who those resources might be.
People as Resources
For example, you wouldn’t ask the waiter at a restaurant to help you with your math homework. Here at the studio, you might ask me to help you with your math homework because of my teaching background. But at a restaurant, you’re not gonna ask them to answer your math homework. That would be one of those things where you need to know who to go to for help.
How do we solve this problem? What kind of issues are we having? Who would you go to about a toothache? Would you go to an astronaut about a toothache? Probably not, but you would go see the dentist, right? So it’s about finding the people that have that knowledge, who know how to help you with that particular situation.
When we have this intellectual awareness, we are asking these great questions. We’re saying, “Hey, I already know this, so can you answer this question for me?”
Teaching Problem Solving
When it comes to that kind of thing, when I was teaching my kids, I’m able to help them with their homework up to about seventh or eighth grade. Then it became a little bit difficult for me to answer math questions because they moved into high school math. My background is in elementary school and junior high.
One of the things that I did, which goes along with intellectual awareness, is ask them to teach me. Because invariably, if they attempted to teach it to me, “I know that we do this to solve the problem, and then we do that to solve the problem,” it would trigger a memory in their brain of the teacher explaining it, and they would know what the next step is that they were stuck on. It would trigger the remembering of the lesson and they would know, “Oh, now I have to do this, this, and that.” That was quite helpful for them because, in teaching me, they were able to teach themselves.
Talking it Out
Sometimes when we’re practicing this intellectual awareness, we might have to sit down and talk through a problem with somebody. We might have to sit down and share what we already know to realize what it is that we actually don’t know and where we need to go to figure it out. Conversations are good. That’s how we build healthy relationships. That’s how we learn new things. That’s how we build on the things we already know.
As we are talking about awareness, yes, it’s being aware of where we are physically in space. Yes, it’s how we’re feeling on a day-to-day basis when we’re dealing with big emotions. But it’s also having this ability to ask great questions and to learn a little bit more so that we can grow smarter, become stronger, and have those healthy relationships.
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 of the 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!
