Sometimes I feel that I am getting too old to teach group exercise classes. Lately, several things have happened that are giving me cause to believe this more and more - I mean besides the fact that my heel and knees hurt after class.

When a student in my class kicked another student's bench out of the way because he would not move over, I was not at all concerned for the safety of either of them or the childish behavior I was witnessing. My concern was whether or not it would be okay for me to stop the class and go home.

As I was teaching Body Sculpt, a couple of the ladies attending class were not only ignoring some safety cues but were adding on dangerous movements that they obviously thought would enhance their workout. My concern was not for their safety. I was totally not concerned about them at all! I actually wished that one of them would get hurt so that I could make them the example in class. I envisioned smirking at them and admonishing them over the microphone system so that they would be embarassed.

When an obviously new student took my class, I knew that she would not be able to follow most of it. I reminded her that it's okay that she may not get the choreography, that she should just be concerned about stepping up & down on the beat of the music, to just relax because the point of the class is to work up a sweat, that eventually, after more classes, she will learn how to step like the rest of the participants. Most importantly, I reminded her to bring the bench down to just the platform because that extra two inches of a step up would make her first workout too difficult. Needless to say, she did not heed my advice. I found myself wishing that she would fall flat on their face causing her wrenching pain and damaging her nose job.

Have I become such a cynic that I wish ill fate to my students? Am I just losing patience for people who don't listen to the advice I give as a qualified instructor? Is it true that as you get older, your tolerance for stupidity wanes? Or is it just that people are taking less responsibility for their actions hence leading to banal behavior? Just wondering. Later.  ¶ 11:20 PM