For my observations, I interviewed girl, let’s call her Penny, who teaches gymnastics to children at a local fitness center. She is a close friend of mine and I have always been interested in what she does in her job. She teaches classes every Friday and Saturday to children ranging from 2-14 years old. I observed her multiple times and recorded 6 hours of observations. After talking to Penny Lane, I found out she did gymnastics as a child at her local fitness center. She was a student there for about 8 years, while growing up. Then while she was in high school, she was asked to teach for students at her fitness center. She loved it so much that when she moved up to Bellingham, she asked the fitness center in town if she could teach some lessons.
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The prime connection I found was the use of emotional labor within a job. The tasks that Penny had to do for each class were fairly simple, but it took a lot of emotional energy to get through a lesson. From age to age group, she had to match their level of energy and keep things stimulating and appealing. When I asked her what the hardest part of the job was, she said that sustaining that energy level for 6 hours a day. Even when she has had a tough week at school or with personal her personal life, she has to come to work and be the happy go lucky teacher. Another connection that I made with the book was the amount of energy required to complete a task. In the book, it talks about how certain waitresses will put in extra time for people who will tip well. Well in this case of teaching gymnastics, Penny uses most of her energy with the younger students because they need more one on one time and then she can take a step back for the older students at the end of the day. She is able to do this and conserve energy so she isn’t as tired when she goes home. Another connection in the book, is the feeling of second nature or connection to work. Penny has her teaching and gymnastics skills down that she doesn’t have to worry about that, but rather the students themselves and keeping them
The prime connection I found was the use of emotional labor within a job. The tasks that Penny had to do for each class were fairly simple, but it took a lot of emotional energy to get through a lesson. From age to age group, she had to match their level of energy and keep things stimulating and appealing. When I asked her what the hardest part of the job was, she said that sustaining that energy level for 6 hours a day. Even when she has had a tough week at school or with personal her personal life, she has to come to work and be the happy go lucky teacher. Another connection that I made with the book was the amount of energy required to complete a task. In the book, it talks about how certain waitresses will put in extra time for people who will tip well. Well in this case of teaching gymnastics, Penny uses most of her energy with the younger students because they need more one on one time and then she can take a step back for the older students at the end of the day. She is able to do this and conserve energy so she isn’t as tired when she goes home. Another connection in the book, is the feeling of second nature or connection to work. Penny has her teaching and gymnastics skills down that she doesn’t have to worry about that, but rather the students themselves and keeping them