I wanna quit

[ImFiddY]

I signed up for a Tai Chi class at a local continuing education college branch and I hate the instructor. He is full of himself, does not slow down the movements so you can process what he is doing. He made fun of me being short and I have a knee that is very weak from surgery and I was kicking it back and shaking the leg cuz a movement was putting too much tork on it and he made fun of that. He needs to understand as we get older we cannot sequence as quickly as younger folks. He has students from his school in the class and they are waaayyy better at instruction than him.

There is another lady who is very tall and he makes fun of her being tall. She is very nice and I talked to her this morning and she feels the exact same way about the instructor. She cannot believe this guy has been teaching for 7 years. She says she comes to class and is irritated the whole time.

I so want to quit but I paid $100 for 5 classes and that's a lot of money to take 2 classes and quit.

Should I quit??

 

[cakebaker]

I would quit & demand my $$ back!

I signed up for a Tai Chi class at a local continuing education college branch and I hate the instructor. He is full of himself, does not slow down the movements so you can process what he is doing. He made fun of me being short and I have a knee that is very weak from surgery and I was kicking it back and shaking the leg cuz a movement was putting too much tork on it and he made fun of that. He needs to understand as we get older we cannot sequence as quickly as younger folks. He has students from his school in the class and they are waaayyy better at instruction than him.

There is another lady who is very tall and he makes fun of her being tall. She is very nice and I talked to her this morning and she feels the exact same way about the instructor. She cannot believe this guy has been teaching for 7 years. She says she comes to class and is irritated the whole time.

I so want to quit but I paid $100 for 5 classes and that's a lot of money to take 2 classes and quit.

Should I quit??

I would go to the office of the college branch, tell them what you just wrote, and ask for a refund. This jerk is way too unprofessional to be teaching any kind of class, & they should know about it. I would also let this instructor know what you think of him, too. Don't let it go & suffer in silence!

 

[Jaffas]

I, too, would definitely complain to the college. I'd encourage the other woman to do the same. He's probably been there for so long because people just drop out without saying why.

 

[syzygy314]

ITA! Report him and request a refund. I can't see why they wouldn't refund your fee if you tell them that he's verbally abusive, which, BTW, at least in MHO, is contradictory to the whole mindset of Tai Chi or any other form of martial arts, yoga, meditation, etc. It all falls into the same "oneness" idea.

Tricia

 

[pepnchar]

Certainly make a complaint -- but I wonder if you can transfer to another instructor? That way you wouldn't have to quit completely.

 

[Aquajock]

What everyone else said. Quit and tell the college administrators exactly why you're doing so, being as precise with examples of his conduct as you can. Colleges these days can't afford to keep loser instructors on staff when there are so many other able instructors out there. Can't say whether you can get refunded the balance of your payment; that one you might have to review your sign-up contract for and/or negotiate with the college.

A-Jock

 

[Shadowpup]

Ditto on what the others have said - in the martial arts, it is important to have an instructor you respect. Transfer to another instructor or a different class in some different class. The sooner you ask, the better, since frequently colleges have cutoff dates past which it is extremely difficult to get a refund.

And even if you don't get your money back right away, why would you want to continue to invest your precious *time* in a class where you and others are humiliated and put into physically questionable situations?

Martial arts instructors have a difficult task, because they often are in a position of pushing students to their limits. The only other thing I'd suggest is to speak to him directly, so that he will understand how you are reacting to his style.

Good luck!

 

[ImFiddY]

Thanks for your input. I wrote an email to the Dean of the continuing education. There is a zero refund policy once you attend a class and this guy is the only one who teaches there. So I'm outta luck on a refund. But at least they will know he is causing students to not come back.

I'm still debating on if I should try the class again. I hate to be a quitter. I also hate to be such a sour puss in the class. The instructor teased that I stopped walking forward in this practice but I stopped cuz the garbage can was right there and he swatted my shoulder and the long time students told me he smacks you because he likes you - I then said, oh so I'll file battery charges later. He just makes me pissy (or pissy'er).

 

[Aquajock]

Thanks for your input. I wrote an email to the Dean of the continuing education. There is a zero refund policy once you attend a class and this guy is the only one who teaches there. So I'm outta luck on a refund. But at least they will know he is causing students to not come back.

I'm still debating on if I should try the class again. I hate to be a quitter. I also hate to be such a sour puss in the class. The instructor teased that I stopped walking forward in this practice but I stopped cuz the garbage can was right there and he swatted my shoulder and the long time students told me he smacks you because he likes you - I then said, oh so I'll file battery charges later. He just makes me pissy (or pissy'er).

Parkercp, this guy sounds like something beyond an unsatisfactory instructor - he sounds like a total d!ck, especially to female participants. I personally wouldn't go back. You need that kind of bad chi in your life like you need a dose of the clap.

A-Jock