Episode 441 | The “Fun Instructor” Problem: How to Keep Culture Consistent Across Staff

Podcast Description

In Episode 441 of School Owner Talk, Duane Brumitt and Shihan Allie Alberigo dig into a problem that quietly wrecks culture in a lot of schools: when expectations change depending on who’s teaching.

You’ve seen it. One instructor has kids lined up, focused, and respectful. Another instructor has kids talking over them, climbing on them, and pushing boundaries. Then the owner walks in, corrects it, and suddenly you’re the “bad guy.”

This episode breaks down why that “fun instructor” dynamic isn’t really about fun—it’s about inconsistency. Duane and Allie share practical ways to protect your standards without killing the vibe: non-negotiables, class “formatting,” coaching frameworks like friendly, firm, and fair, and what to do when an instructor (or a family) simply won’t align.

Key Takeaways

This isn’t anti-fun. Fun is necessary. The problem is when “fun” turns into unclear boundaries and mixed expectations.
Kids don’t follow rules—they follow patterns. If standards change by instructor, students learn to test the room.
Inconsistency creates a subculture. Over time you end up with “two schools in one,” which confuses parents and hurts retention.
Most “fun instructor” issues come from avoidable causes: wanting to be liked, avoiding conflict, unclear standards, lack of training, and no shared scripts.
A simple coaching framework helps: Duane’s “3 F’s” for staff—friendly, firm, and fair.
Standards have to be visible and enforced. Small details (bowing correctly, line-up, yes sir/no sir, sitting posture) create the bigger culture.
Parents often won’t help with standards unless you make it easy—and enforce it. If you don’t hold the line, the standard becomes optional.
Systems beat speeches. Duane shares how he uses “responsibility strikes” with automated parent communication to reinforce preparedness.
Sometimes it’s not fixable. If you’ve trained, coached, and supported an instructor and they still won’t operate inside the framework, you may need to let them go.

Action Steps for School Owners

Define the real problem in one sentence. It’s not “my instructor is too fun.” It’s: standards change depending on who’s teaching.
Pick 3–5 non-negotiables for the next 30–90 days. Keep it tight and specific. Examples from the episode:

How students line up
How students bow (respectful bow, not sloppy)
Yes sir / no sir (or your school’s equivalent)
Sitting posture standards
Eye contact / attention stance

Standardize your class “formatting.” Allie compares this to coding: if you leave holes, the whole system breaks. Decide how students enter, sit, line up, transition, and reset—then teach it the same way every class.
Train your staff on a shared behavior framework. Use Duane’s “friendly, firm, and fair” as a simple coaching language:

Friendly (not their friend)
Firm (clear boundaries)
Fair (consistent standards)

Fix “huddling” and “hovering.” Duane’s rule: assistants shouldn’t cluster together. Place staff on opposite ends of the room (or corners) so the whole class is covered.
Create a real follow-through system for responsibility. Duane’s example: responsibility strikes within a testing cycle (with parent communication each time). Whether you copy that exact system or not, the principle is the same: standards must have consequences.
Coach privately, not publicly—and use video when possible. Video review removes emotion and shows what’s actually happening. Give tools and scripts, not vague criticism.
Get staff buy-in by involving them. Duane’s suggestion: ask instructors to write down 10 non-negotiables, then discuss as a team and agree on the top 5–10 to run for the next quarter.
Ask the “same school” question. If a parent watched three different classes with three different instructors this week… would it feel like the same program?
Know when it’s time to part ways. If an instructor won’t align with the culture after coaching and support, letting them go protects your sanity, your staff, and your student body.

Additional Resources Mentioned

“Friendly, firm, and fair” (Duane’s staff coaching framework)
Class “formatting” (Allie’s term for standardizing transitions, posture, and protocols)
Responsibility strikes vs. attitude strikes (Duane’s standards + accountability system)
Huddling and hovering (Duane’s terms for staff clustering instead of covering the room)
Core principle: “Your culture is whatever you allow repeatedly.”