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Thread: Teaching in Schools

  1. #21
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by David Franklin View Post
    The thing is, Alan, your entire way of posting completely changes whenever you start posting the WCS party line.

    Of course, in this case, people might be interested to see:
    From http://www.havetodance.com/kateford/ (Kate Ford is a former US Open winner):

    The Motion Study class, more than anything else, will help your dancing, balance, musical interpretion and control. ...

    For advanced dancers and beginners alike, it is a foundation for all syncopations, for styling, and body control in any type of dance.
    Do you have permission from Kate, by the way? I see you are using the same wording in some of your online advertising.
    Yes, I've contacted Kate...

  2. #22
    Basically lazy robd's Avatar
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Doyle View Post
    Yes, I've contacted Kate...
    Very Geordieed-like use of the trailing dots, have you contacted him too?

    And is there any chance you might answer David's question rather than skipping around it? I think you do try to contribute in a helpful manner Alan but somehow pretty much everything you post manages to rub me (and I suspect many others) up the wrong way whether that is your intent or not.

  3. #23
    Dickie Davies' love-child Cruella's Avatar
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by CheesyRobMan View Post
    Plus their own teacher is a known quantity, whereas a stranger coming in to teach one class is probably a more scary prospect and the kids will behave a lot better.
    I have to disagree with this completely, I know from experience that the kids will behave far worse for a teacher that has come in for the day than their regular teacher.


    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    In my experience I put the children at their ease and they talk too much when I'm trying to teach. I've always found it better to get the teacher to quieten down the children rather than try myself. I've always thought they feel they can talk because my voice was coming through the speakers and they can hear me above the general chatter
    It's nothing to do with you using a mic, try it without and you'll have the same experience, I guarantee it. It's to do with the kids pushing you as far as possible, letting the teacher take charge of the discipline will lower your authority even more. Try stopping what you are doing/saying and just stand there looking at the kids (you need to learn 'the look' though ) You have to stand your ground until all the kids notice that you haven't carried on, it'll get their attention more than any shouting. Every time the noise starts again, just stop, they'll soon chatter less and less once they realise you won't carry on regardless.

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy McGregor View Post
    One thing that you need to manage is the initial reluctance of boys and girls to hold hands.
    Yep that was my experience too, the first time my Headteacher asked me to teach the kids some MJ, I spent half the lesson trying to persuade them that holding the hands of the opposite sex was quite an important part of partner dancing and they wouldn't catch anything fatal!

  4. #24
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by Gadget View Post
    I think it more likely that Ceroc try and get their CTA training to be a recognised qualification - for them it's a much better solution.

    And I agree with teaching partner dancing in schools (and mucho respect for doing so) - I remember (vaguely) being taught some ceilidh dancing... and the birdie song in primary school.

    I think that line dancing (or perhaps bhangra) would get a better initial reaction to school kids, but I think that there is more to be gained from a 'true' partner dance. And I can't think on any better one than MJ (but I am a bit bias ).
    I think if it's fun it'll be accepted by younger children whether it's cool or not. Having dance presented as a school activity liberates them up to a point from having to worry about what their friends think.

    What's the youngest age group that anyone's successfully taught MJ to?

    I've noticed a more positive reaction from boys to the idea of dancing, some of the macho-type sporty lads I've taught recently have been very keen dancers. Young boys' rhythm and coordination tends to lag a long way behind girls' however, and that might be more of a problem in partner dance than solo dances.

  5. #25
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by Cruella View Post
    Try stopping what you are doing/saying and just stand there looking at the kids (you need to learn 'the look' though ) You have to stand your ground until all the kids notice that you haven't carried on, it'll get their attention more than any shouting. Every time the noise starts again, just stop, they'll soon chatter less and less once they realise you won't carry on regardless.
    I've done this and it does work really well - with some year groups. It's nothing to do with age, it just seems that some school years have a higher than normal number of troublesome children. My most recent school session in November had such a year group and I didn't have the skills to deal with it - so the teacher helped by saying something like "Andy is our guest, please keep quiet while he's speaking".

    One thing I've found happens is that I need to remind myself to recalibrate when I teach adults that day - the middle aged chatterboxes in the evening classes get a real surprise when I use the silent treatment and the "look"!

  6. #26
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by Cruella

    It's nothing to do with you using a mic, try it without and you'll have the same experience, I guarantee it. It's to do with the kids pushing you as far as possible, letting the teacher take charge of the discipline will lower your authority even more. Try stopping what you are doing/saying and just stand there looking at the kids (you need to learn 'the look' though ) You have to stand your ground until all the kids notice that you haven't carried on, it'll get their attention more than any shouting. Every time the noise starts again, just stop, they'll soon chatter less and less once they realise you won't carry on regardless.
    Good advice.

    I think the novelty of a new unknown person means the children behave well initially but they very soon begin to test them out. It's best if the visitor deals with control as much as possible themselves by firmly taking the initiative and setting boundaries in a friendly manner but the teacher should intervene and make it clear that they back them up to the hilt if necessary.

  7. #27
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Quote Originally Posted by Cruella View Post
    Yep that was my experience too, the first time my Headteacher asked me to teach the kids some MJ, I spent half the lesson trying to persuade them that holding the hands of the opposite sex was quite an important part of partner dancing and they wouldn't catch anything fatal!
    I've handled this by doing a pairing exercise. I divide the class with girls one side and boys the other side. I then talk to the boys about how brave they're going to need to be to hold hands with the girls. And I talk to the girls about how some boys can be a bit naughty/scruffy/smelly/etc. I also explain to the boys that a partner dance requires a partner and it's better to partner a girl than hold hands with another boy in front of the whole year group! And I tell the girls that I've heard one of the boys is really handsome, that we'll be changing partners every few minutes and they WILL get to dance with the one handsome boy in the year - although I can't resist looking around the hall and asking if "the handsome boy" is off sick today?

    After all of that, which takes less than a minute, I get the boys to form a line behind me and the girls to form a line behind Sue. Then we have two big snakes which worm around the room until it passes between two teachers who put the children's hands together. Then I form lines and move them around once so they understand that they're not stuck with the same partner.

    On the subject of the sleeves thing, I've found that the children simply do as they're told. If I tell the boys to get their hands out of their sleeves and hold hands with the girl that is what they do - which is a level of control I never have with adults

  8. #28
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    Re: Teaching in Schools

    Fab, Andy.

    I SO wish that partner dancing was a standard part of UK primary schooling (and secondary, actually).

    There are so many aspects of partner dancing which are beneficial to kids in their overall development: physical co-ordination and spacial awareness; basic music theory in practice; respectful social interaction with the opposite sex...I'm sure there's more if I thought about it.

    Also, it gives the kids who aren't good at sports another physical activity which they might find they enjoy more, or do better at.

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