What I’ve learnt from trying to fix things.
I’ve had a bit of an equipment fail - or more accurately I’ve failed my equipment!
When I’m teaching online I use a webcam attached to a telescopic tripod stand so I can adjust the height easily for standing, seated and supine poses. It’s taken me a bit of time to get this system in place so my students can see the detail of what I’m demonstrating and I can move around on the mat, and move the camera without disrupting the flow of the class. Most of the time it works well, sometimes I’ll spot confused faces looking back at me and realise I’m explaining details of the feet but the camera’s on my face and upper body for example!
The tripod bit of my stand had come away so the legs aren’t as sturdy as they could be. I took advantage of me going away for a few days and not needing the stand to ask my Dad to glue it back together. My exact instructions were “whack as much superglue as you can around the bottom, so this little thing doesn't drop off, it’ll be fine.” We even discussed whether gluing it would affect the movement and I assured him it was fine, and the movement was on the outside of the tube.
Fast forward a week and to half an hour before I’m due to start teaching an online class, I’m setting up the camera and going to check how tall the stand needs to be for the standing poses. I unclip the section and go to move it, but it doesn’t. None of them do. It turns out in instructing Dad to stick as much glue around the bottom, the telescopic bit is also stuck fast. I mean it’s great glue!
Fortunately, I could laugh about the absurdity of the situation, and could improvise some camera positions for the class. Once I had more time to reflect, I started thinking about what I’ve learnt from this and how it can help me in my teaching.
Firstly, understanding the mechanics of something before I instruct a move. One small difference - extending just the bottom section before it was glued and it would be fine. I’d neglected to think of all the movements that were needed.
The second, and deeper realisation is around acceptance, not grasping and striving for perfection. Sometimes stands are wonky. If they work fine, they’re just a bit quirky, isn’t that ok? By trying to make the stand perfect, it’s now less flexible, and more difficult to use.
If the stand was a person, I wouldn’t have tried to fix it. I’m keeping the stand, as a bit of a reminder to myself, and now I’m looking for new, more creative solutions for how my students can see me during the class!