Aptos High teacher Lara Birchner (Photo: SW)
How many 15-year-old boys would like to throw their ceramics teacher like a hunk of clay on the wheel? Aptos High student Nicklaus Menge gets to do it over and over, and the school hasn't even threatened suspension.
Menge and his ceramics teacher, Lara Birchler, are in the Aptos High Judo club together, and they're having a ball learning to throw each other onto the mat.
"My son just threw his teacher!" exclaimed Nick's mom Ruth Menge as she watched from the bench. She looked a bit nervous about the whole thing.
Birchler, on the other hand, was taking it all in stride.
"It can be a little bit awkward," she says. "But I think it's healthy for us because it's a community."
The community is Aptos High, but it's even more. Aptos High wrestling coach Reggie Roberts has created Positive Impact Wrestling Academy (PIWA), a community program aimed at getting kids into wrestling and Judo and off the track to self-destructive behavior.
Roberts says having a teacher in the class is exactly the sort of thing he's aiming for. He envisions PIWA as a way to break down the barriers of age, what school kids go to, and who is in charge. At PIWA, different coaches appeared each week all summer, imparting their different philosophies and styles of teaching to kids from all over the county.
The Judo portion of the class, which continues through October, is led by Sidharth Seth of Aptos Judo Club.
Nick seemed a bit embarrassed to say much about hand-on-hand combat with his teacher, pointing out that he's not her only student who showed up for Judo that day. His mom says she's thrilled that he's back into a martial art, since he earned a Junior Black Belt in karate when he was 11 but had fallen out of the sport since then. "He can get a full Black Belt when he's 18," Ruth Menge pointed out, "so maybe someday he'll go finish it."
Birchner speaks with Ruth Menge (Photo: SW)
Lara Birchner says that Judo is a great workout, and that her being in the class teaches kids a good lesson about life.
"Just because I'm a teacher doesn't mean I can't get thrown on the mat," she says.
It's a lesson to live by.
Comments
Nice to see Judo thriving. It definitely is more than a sport and I believe teaches strong social responsibility - "Mutual Welfare and Benefit"
Judo Rocks! It is the perfect sport for High school and teachers!
I really hope they stick with it.
Did Reggie Roberts just win a Judo tournament? Aptos high is very lucky to have him as a wrestling/judo coach. I am going to switch schools :-)
mrs. birchler is the bombbbbb
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!