So more and more in my old age I realize I should have been some species of a sociologist. Rob and I went snowboarding yesterday, and I finally understand why the Japanese are so damn good at kendo.

The representation in terms of New York City-ers was relatively low despite the perfect weather, coldly crisp and still lightly snowing with no wind to attack my delicate pores. What was interesting to watch throughout, however, was the ways in which the teaching of skiing and boarding was taught, the socialization throughout.

I started out in a group lesson, with three kids whose combined age just might have exceeded my own. My instructor couldn't even shave, and the emphasis was on language (toes, heels) rather than on the real effects, and on communication, something I paid especial attention to since there didn't seem to be all that many ELL's hanging out on the slopes. The idea of a group lesson and the lack of reiho were notable, in that the goal was transmission and all learning was at a distance, done by speech.

The difference might have been the ways in which the local parents were training their little ski-kids with harnesses or cradled between their legs, steering their way, and yelling out things like, "Pizza slice" (in order to slow down, apparently), which of course as a culturally-sensitive/relevant/responsive teacher I find offensive to our Sicilian students, or even weaving down "Lover's Lane" holding a little kid's hand, exclaiming, "Isn't this fun?" Of course, private tuition costs a lot more, and there was a mix of parents who were doing their own teaching and a stable of redcoated instructors who of course got preferential treatment in line.

From the point of view of teaching and Mountainous Education, however, I found it helpful to look at these contexts with fresh eyes, and thinking about the ways in which the "model" or philosophy of instruction is far different from the transmissionist ways in which we are still stuck in schooling. Further, I'm deeply jealous of the ways in which little kids can just take things up, in ways that they have a hard time describing or even articulating (as my instructor shows), with a confidence that adult learners like me lose in our self-questioning and doubting....