It is Time to Level Up! Honor Hoop Teachers

Teaching my small hoop class at the dance studio

What's Been Going on?

More people seem to be trying to protest our decision to ask for payment for classes. Many people are trying to find "loop holes" and refuse to pay for lessons. Many people attend hoop jams just so they can learn everything free. Hoop jams are meant for fun, practice, and being with other hoopers. I go to hoop jams to practice and flow. I do not attend or hold jams to teach or be taught. Some people are demanding that instructors teach them everything they want to know for free, simply out of the kindness of their hearts. 

Recently, I have been manipulated, insulted, and threatened by someone trying to get free lessons from me. This person cannot learn via YouTube tutorials and requires face-to-face lessons. They found someone who told them "it is a passion, not a job" and they agreed to teach her everything for free. Before she found this person, she was going to pay me for lessons and had no problem with it. She used to see the value in me. I offered her money-saving deals to work with her. I spent a lot of time and energy helping her, giving her advice, and even giving her the first private lesson free. She seems to have completely forgotten all that I did for her. Now, she's turned to insulting me and all hooping instructors. At this point, I've had enough and I decided to do something about it.

How do Hoop Instructors Feel?

 "We have an incredibly transformative tool at our disposal, yet people in our community can't make a living teaching it. This needs to stop. No matter what you are teaching to others, there needs to be an exchange of energy. If we spend our time giving hoop classes away for free, we'll all be broke, burnt out and would hate hooping! Does a teacher, doctor, lawyer, shopkeeper, or whoever give their stuff away for free? No. We shouldn't expect them to. Why is that just because it's a hula hoop that we can't charge for our time?  It's time for our community to level up. This is a tool for transforming lives. If we don't charge for it, who is going to see the value in it?"  Meagan Ruppert

The Simple Truth

It is NOT wrong to ask for compensation for our time, energy, resources, and valuable knowledge. It isn't simply showing up to a location to teach people some tricks. It goes far beyond that, as any hoop instructor knows. It took us a long time to build up our teaching skills. Some paid hundreds to get trained for teaching (although I could not afford that option). We have to pay a rental fee or percentage for the place we hold classes. We have to buy supplies to create special hoops for our students to use in class.  Some of us are dealing with an area with very few jobs. Rather than staying unemployed, we took a chance and are trying to create our own jobs. We spend hours outside of class preparing class outlines, lesson plans, business cards, and more. We know what we are doing and we know that asking for payment is justified.

What IS wrong is expecting us to give all of that away for free every time you want a free lesson. It is unfair to expect us to schedule you in for endless free services that others are happy to pay for. They see the value in us, even if you don't. You cannot force us to change our minds. You have no right to make hoop instructors feel badly about themselves for requiring payment. If you can't afford the classes, we should not be punished for that. If you know the actual value of hooping and hoop dance and the benefits it provides, you will know the value of instructors.

Since my low-income city provides very little opportunities, I will volunteer my time once in a while
for some events, but I usually charge for my services. I recently started putting out a tip jar.

The Struggle Where I Live

I often tell myself how much easier it would be if I just moved away from this low-income city. Most of the people are set in their ways and don't understand the value of what I do. I feel like I have been living in the wrong place for years now. However, I would feel guilty for leaving this city. My city would benefit tremendously from hooping in so many ways. I want to stay to benefit the residents of Titusville. I understand why adults want me to teach a kids class. Most of them probably still think hoops are only for children and haven't been educated about why hoops benefit adults. I have tried for over a year to educate the area's adults about the benefits. I prefer and specialize in teaching older age groups and it is what I have chosen as my path. I think adults need the stress-relief, anxiety/depression relief, weight loss, and the many other benefits that hooping provides. I never even liked hula hoops when I was a kid. I didn't see their value until age 25 and they changed my life.

What Should the Hooping Community Do?

We are asking hoopers to support ALL hooping and hoop dance teachers. To refuse to support others goes against what all hoopers stand for. Support for others and their dreams is ALWAYS #1 in the hooping community. This support doesn't just end at supporting hooping teachers. It also means charging for your own services. If you don't feel it is worth charging for, who is going to?

"It's time for our community to level up. This is a tool for transforming lives. If we don't charge for it, who is going to see the value in it?"