An agility education...

It is one thing to know it all; it is another thing to share it all. While the meaning of education differs from curriculum to curriculum, one thing should stay constant; instructors instruct for if they wish to dictate they become dictators.  Teaching is not meant to inform, but to educate for future application. In agility you can tell someone how to do everything in the book, but until you explain to them why and let them experiment with each piece on their own they will never truly know how to use each skill.  

Agility isn’t a onetime learn this, take the test, now forget. There are overlapping layers; a constant stream of new information that can never be fully obtained. Your test? There isn’t one, because in agility there are no problems. In agility we are simply presented opportunities for greater understanding. There are no correct answers, simply things that work and things that don't for you and your dog. That's the beautiful thing about this sport, there are a million and one ways to handle and train. There isn't one defined path to success. Once we step to the startling line it is  up to each of us to choose which race we wish to run. 

These are some of my novice students, just starting to understand agility itself. I'm so proud of them and hope that they learn to understand and apply the concepts they learn with me on every course they ever encounter and succeed.