| Published by Slash Title: The Massage Education Infection by Slash Coleman 9/06 - Massage Magazine |
X Country X - Tour 2006
Massage School Infection
Sugar Daddy
Wheat Free Nation
MSG: Danger in Food
A Chakra History Primer
Best Places Not to Argue
Massage School Infection
Sugar Daddy
Wheat Free Nation
MSG: Danger in Food
A Chakra History Primer
Best Places Not to Argue
You’ve probably heard the cheesy, low-budget commercials on the radio… “Have you
always wanted to learn a trade? Are you looking to jumpstart your career? Let our
dedicated team at XYZ Career Institute help you learn the skills you need to thrive in today’s
growing market of computers, medical assisting,…..and massage.”
Having served on the massage faculty of two xyz career institutes, (cynically referred to
as, “Jerry Springer Schools of Massage,” by attending students), as both dean and
instructor, and having seen the inner workings of at least five others, it's easy for me to say
these types of schools are doing far more to harm the massage profession than to help it.
First, these schools target low-income students in urban environments and seduce them
with the promise of a new life. Pitching the security of a high hourly wage and the personal
freedom of being self-employed, school admission administrators persuade a “target
market,” of mostly single moms, to take out loans for as much as $20,000 (not including
tables, books, and supplies). Most of these students, not only lack the maturity and the social
resources to complete the programs, but many struggle with learning disabilities. Very few
possess the basic skills that will allow them to answer the phone properly, balance a check
book, or even show up to an appointment on time. And so, for nine months, these students
will struggle to find bus fare to school, to find a sitter to watch the kids during class time,
and to complete basic homework assignments. Administrators, channeling the
entrepreneurial spirit of a for-profit mission, tend to conveniently overlook such
shortcomings.
Unfortunately, many in the target market won’t survive as massage therapists outside of
school. I found that only 60% of my own students that started these programs, finished.
Since numbers count in the world of the career institute, when enrollment and retention
levels drop, (which is to be expected of low-income students overtaken with the rigors of
making ends meet), administrators often ask faculty to lower their standards and relax
attendance and grading policies. Each of the schools I was involved with condones this
practice.
The most discouraging statistic is that out of all of my own students that actually completed
the programs, only 10% were still working as either part-time or full-time therapists after two
years. How well trained is that 10%? Considering that the curriculum and class structure is
based largely on a medical assisting program model, most students will not be adequately
prepared for a realistic work environment when they graduate. At most career institutes,
courses of study emphasize books over touch, and students usually have the opportunity to
take only one hands-on class the entire year – limiting even well trained teachers.
As you might imagine, the quality of teachers this environment tends to attract is second-
rate, at best. Although many have big hearts and a passion to instruct, very few have
teaching experience. When I was in a position to hire new teachers, there were often few
to select from. Hired on an as-need basis, with no benefits, little pay, and no support, turn-
over tends to be the norm rather than the exception. In my first six months at one school,
nineteen employees were either fired or left.
The teaching environment, to say the least, is full of complications that are trying even for a
seasoned teacher. Despite my qualifications – I hold a Master’s Degree in Education with
over ten years of teaching experience - even I found the challenges difficult to handle. The
conditions bring to mind my student teaching days in some of Chicago’s worst inner city
schools.
For example, as a teacher, what would you do if you showed up to class and all the
massage tables were gone…as in stolen? How would you respond to a fist fight amongst
your students during a public massage demonstration? What do you say to panhandlers in
the hallway between classes? What would you do if a dead body ended up outside your
classroom one winter evening and your supervisor asked you to persuade your students to
feel safe enough to come to class when you weren’t sure you felt safe? How do you justify
returning to a school, day after day, where you see the police more than your supervisor?
All of this and I’m expected to enforce a dress code that requires me and my fellow students
to wear sea-foam green doctor’s scrubs…..are you serious?
You’re probably wondering why I continued to work at these types of schools under such
precarious conditions. The truth is, underneath it all, I grew up in the exact same
environment as my students - in a broken family, plagued by alcoholism and abuse, in a poor
neighborhood riddled with crime, and in a place where chances for getting ahead in the
world are far and few between. No matter how bad it ever was, I guess I saw myself in
each of my students. I wanted them to succeed so badly and to bring a healthy sense of
touch back into their homes. In the end, I decided that there would always be far too many
students out there than I could ever inspire, encourage, and save.
When I eventually resigned, I vowed to turn away from these types of schools altogether, a
vow that lasted less than a year. I re-entered the job market and interviewed at five new
xyz institutes, ones that were as bad or far worse than the ones I’d come from. Walking
through the halls, listening to the desperate appeals of those in a position to hire me, I tried to
convince myself it would be different, but luckily, my heart helped me remember why I’d left.
Honestly, I’m not going to take up space here telling you about how models of success in
education include defined goals that are measurable and missions that emphasize massage
exclusively. And, I refuse to preach about my days serving on faculties at private massage
schools where conditions were practically perfect.
As an educator and massage professional, I know that such information is a mouse click
away for anyone wanting to implement change. To tell you the truth, it’s embarrassing to
even call career institutes that offer massage, schools at all. They aren’t schools. They are
trenches where snake-oil salesmen ride trendy profit bandwagons and promote an
antiquated version of crisis control. I feel it would serve our communities best if these
schools were shut down before any further damage is inflicted.
What’s to be done? Although I’ve often been the biggest cynic when it comes to national
standards in our profession, my career institute experiences have changed me. I’m now a
staunch supporter of not only a universally agreed upon national standard for our
profession regarding statewide licensure, but also national standards for massage
education. I think the NEA (National Education Association), which oversees our nation’s
public school teachers, should also oversee our massage schools.
Until we all unite for national standards for our therapists and for the schools that are
teaching them, schools such as the ones I described, will not only continue to struggle with
where to get their information, but they’ll also continue to take advantage of students. Can
we really risk infecting our communities with more ill-trained therapists? In the end, I think it
makes us all look bad.
always wanted to learn a trade? Are you looking to jumpstart your career? Let our
dedicated team at XYZ Career Institute help you learn the skills you need to thrive in today’s
growing market of computers, medical assisting,…..and massage.”
Having served on the massage faculty of two xyz career institutes, (cynically referred to
as, “Jerry Springer Schools of Massage,” by attending students), as both dean and
instructor, and having seen the inner workings of at least five others, it's easy for me to say
these types of schools are doing far more to harm the massage profession than to help it.
First, these schools target low-income students in urban environments and seduce them
with the promise of a new life. Pitching the security of a high hourly wage and the personal
freedom of being self-employed, school admission administrators persuade a “target
market,” of mostly single moms, to take out loans for as much as $20,000 (not including
tables, books, and supplies). Most of these students, not only lack the maturity and the social
resources to complete the programs, but many struggle with learning disabilities. Very few
possess the basic skills that will allow them to answer the phone properly, balance a check
book, or even show up to an appointment on time. And so, for nine months, these students
will struggle to find bus fare to school, to find a sitter to watch the kids during class time,
and to complete basic homework assignments. Administrators, channeling the
entrepreneurial spirit of a for-profit mission, tend to conveniently overlook such
shortcomings.
Unfortunately, many in the target market won’t survive as massage therapists outside of
school. I found that only 60% of my own students that started these programs, finished.
Since numbers count in the world of the career institute, when enrollment and retention
levels drop, (which is to be expected of low-income students overtaken with the rigors of
making ends meet), administrators often ask faculty to lower their standards and relax
attendance and grading policies. Each of the schools I was involved with condones this
practice.
The most discouraging statistic is that out of all of my own students that actually completed
the programs, only 10% were still working as either part-time or full-time therapists after two
years. How well trained is that 10%? Considering that the curriculum and class structure is
based largely on a medical assisting program model, most students will not be adequately
prepared for a realistic work environment when they graduate. At most career institutes,
courses of study emphasize books over touch, and students usually have the opportunity to
take only one hands-on class the entire year – limiting even well trained teachers.
As you might imagine, the quality of teachers this environment tends to attract is second-
rate, at best. Although many have big hearts and a passion to instruct, very few have
teaching experience. When I was in a position to hire new teachers, there were often few
to select from. Hired on an as-need basis, with no benefits, little pay, and no support, turn-
over tends to be the norm rather than the exception. In my first six months at one school,
nineteen employees were either fired or left.
The teaching environment, to say the least, is full of complications that are trying even for a
seasoned teacher. Despite my qualifications – I hold a Master’s Degree in Education with
over ten years of teaching experience - even I found the challenges difficult to handle. The
conditions bring to mind my student teaching days in some of Chicago’s worst inner city
schools.
For example, as a teacher, what would you do if you showed up to class and all the
massage tables were gone…as in stolen? How would you respond to a fist fight amongst
your students during a public massage demonstration? What do you say to panhandlers in
the hallway between classes? What would you do if a dead body ended up outside your
classroom one winter evening and your supervisor asked you to persuade your students to
feel safe enough to come to class when you weren’t sure you felt safe? How do you justify
returning to a school, day after day, where you see the police more than your supervisor?
All of this and I’m expected to enforce a dress code that requires me and my fellow students
to wear sea-foam green doctor’s scrubs…..are you serious?
You’re probably wondering why I continued to work at these types of schools under such
precarious conditions. The truth is, underneath it all, I grew up in the exact same
environment as my students - in a broken family, plagued by alcoholism and abuse, in a poor
neighborhood riddled with crime, and in a place where chances for getting ahead in the
world are far and few between. No matter how bad it ever was, I guess I saw myself in
each of my students. I wanted them to succeed so badly and to bring a healthy sense of
touch back into their homes. In the end, I decided that there would always be far too many
students out there than I could ever inspire, encourage, and save.
When I eventually resigned, I vowed to turn away from these types of schools altogether, a
vow that lasted less than a year. I re-entered the job market and interviewed at five new
xyz institutes, ones that were as bad or far worse than the ones I’d come from. Walking
through the halls, listening to the desperate appeals of those in a position to hire me, I tried to
convince myself it would be different, but luckily, my heart helped me remember why I’d left.
Honestly, I’m not going to take up space here telling you about how models of success in
education include defined goals that are measurable and missions that emphasize massage
exclusively. And, I refuse to preach about my days serving on faculties at private massage
schools where conditions were practically perfect.
As an educator and massage professional, I know that such information is a mouse click
away for anyone wanting to implement change. To tell you the truth, it’s embarrassing to
even call career institutes that offer massage, schools at all. They aren’t schools. They are
trenches where snake-oil salesmen ride trendy profit bandwagons and promote an
antiquated version of crisis control. I feel it would serve our communities best if these
schools were shut down before any further damage is inflicted.
What’s to be done? Although I’ve often been the biggest cynic when it comes to national
standards in our profession, my career institute experiences have changed me. I’m now a
staunch supporter of not only a universally agreed upon national standard for our
profession regarding statewide licensure, but also national standards for massage
education. I think the NEA (National Education Association), which oversees our nation’s
public school teachers, should also oversee our massage schools.
Until we all unite for national standards for our therapists and for the schools that are
teaching them, schools such as the ones I described, will not only continue to struggle with
where to get their information, but they’ll also continue to take advantage of students. Can
we really risk infecting our communities with more ill-trained therapists? In the end, I think it
makes us all look bad.
Love In Boxes
The Neon Man and Me
Glow - The Documentary
Slash Coleman has Big Matzo Balls
Lectures & Workshops
The Neon Man and Me
Glow - The Documentary
Slash Coleman has Big Matzo Balls
Lectures & Workshops
| Books |
Is My Chakra Pretty?
An Artists's Therapeutic
Journey through the
Chakras (About Vision
2004) explains in a fun
and easy-to-understand
An Artists's Therapeutic
Journey through the
Chakras (About Vision
2004) explains in a fun
and easy-to-understand
language the fascinating but
sometimes confusing world of
chakra energy.
sometimes confusing world of
chakra energy.
| © Slash Coleman 2006 |
