Task 5a: Ethics Applying to my Workplace

For this task I decided to run though the process of teaching a class from beginning to end, picking up on each "unwritten" ethical rule that I abide by as I go.

Preparation:

Before each class I teach I ensure that the class is properly planned in terms of structure, in order to ensure that the class runs smoothly. This includes:

• A list of class content and song choices.
• Usually a pre-choreographed routine. 
• Making sure I am presented in a professional and smart manner in order to maintain a level of professionalism.

Upon Arrival:

I always arrive at least 15 minutes before a class in order to:

• Clear the room of any obstacles or obstructions, ensure all the required light are on and the room is the correct temperature.
• Arrange my music, notes and register so that I can begin as soon as I can.
• To make sure I am in the room before anybody arrives as this appears much more professional

During the class:

• If there are any new students I ensure the parent signs a small disclaimer acknowledging that it is their responsibility to ensure the child is dressed appropriately, and that during the course of a dance class some student/teacher contact may be required and that it will always be carried out in a professional manner. (I feel as a male dance teacher this is particularly important) 
• I carry out a thorough warm up making sure my students are participating fully, as it is my responsibility to ensure they are properly prepared for dancing.
• I aim to give equal attention to each student. They are all paying the same amount of money and therefore it would be wrong to focus more on the struggling students, or more on the ones excelling.

After class:

• As much as possible I make myself available to parents if they wish to discuss anything related to the class of their child.
• I maintain a professional manner until I have left the building.

Its interesting looking at what I've written, as I started to consider where I have picked up these codes of conduct/unwritten guidelines. I've never been taught them directly, therefore I must assume that I have picked them up from teachers that have taught me in the past, or simply instinctively known what is right and wrong.

Is working on ethical instincts alone enough? As I only teach free classes (no examination bodies or syllabus involved), my own personal and professional ethics are the only ones I've ever followed. Is this something I should remedy, and if so, what organisational ethical guidelines should I follow? And would they even differ that much from my own Personal/Professional ethics?

Task 4d: Award Title

The factors I considered were:

• I have trained in dance since the age of 12
• I have worked as a professional dancer for 3 year
• I have been teaching freelance classes in a variety of styles for nearly 2 years
• My aim is to become a full time teacher in the public sector
• My enquiry is not entirely focused yet, but it's clear that it will be concentrating on dance education within secondary schools.

With all these factors considered, the most appropriate title I can think of is:

BA (Hons) Professional Practice Dance Education

I felt that including the word dance in the title was obvious and a necessity, and the word education bridged over to where I am aiming to get to professionally.

Effective Blogging: How to encourage comments on your posts.

An issue that keeps on coming up is "How can I get people to comment on my blog?"

Tip 1:
Comment on others blogs...a lot!
If student no.1 goes onto their blog page and sees that student no.2 is frequently and consistently commenting on their posts, they will feel obliged and obligated to comment on theirs in return.

Tip 2:
Go out of your way to help.
When commenting on students posts, make your comments about them and their work. By all means relate it to your own work, but don't make it selfish. If the recipient of your comment finds it helpful and encouraging, again they will feel obliged to return the favour. "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours".

Tip 3: Subscribe to responses.
At the bottom of every comments page on every blog entry, there is a link that says "subscribe by email". By clicking this link, you receive an email every time somebody comments on that post. My advise: click that link on every single post you write or comment on. This way you will never miss a comment and you will be able to respond quickly, keeping the people who are commenting engaged.

Tip 4: Presence
It's extremely difficult, and all of us go through phases when our blog attendance is poor, but the best way to ensure you receive comments is to spend as much time as possible posting and commenting. If your presence within the blog community is strong, you will "trend" and become a popular person to interact with.

I hope those tips are helpful. Please let me know if they are, or indeed if they're not!

This is by no means a fail safe plan, but if you follow these tips it should generate more comments.

Thanks for reading,

Liam.

Student Representative Facebook Group!!

Hello everyone,

I have now set up a Facebook group called "BAPP Student Representative". The purpose of this group will be to provide an environment where we can all discuss the course and raise any issues, ask any questions etc. Add me on Facebook: "Liam Conman (Liam Driscoll)" and request to join the group.

Here's the link: BAPP Student Representative

I really want to get some real discussions going so I can identify where the issues lie and what you guys want to see changed or improved.

Thanks!

Liam.

Task 4c: Developing Questions

Last week I met with Fleur Stevenson, my friend and employer who has ran a successful ISTD based dance school for many years. I spoke to her about private dance education and how it contrasts with dance in schools. She was of the opinion that private dance education is much more about the technique, where as public dance education is more focused on expression, improvisation and creation. She acknowledged that both skills are important, however she made the point that a student can only progress to a limited level of dance if their technique is not solid.

We then moved on to discussing how the benefits of studying dance from a technical point of view are often unknown by parents of students, or overlooked and thought of as not important.

With this topic in mind, we came up with a potential line of inquiry:

"What are the benefits of dance within secondary school education?"

This is a question which I think would produce a lot of very valuable information which would aid my transition into public education. There is plenty of Literature on the subject giving me plenty to research...

This is by no means the final draft of my question, and I plan now to discuss the question with another friend of mine, Dr Jonathan Rees. Jon has a PHD in music and works as Course Co-ordinator and Head of Singing at Stella Mann College. As you can guess from his title, he is very academic and will hopefully be able to help me in fine tuning my question.

What do you all think? Is the question too vague, too broad? Is it too obvious? Does a better way of wording the question immediately jump out at you? Any feedback would be much appreciated!

Slogging away

After a good solid 5 hours of reading, researching, searching through previous student blogs for inspiration etc etc, I feel I'm making very little progress. I feel a bit lost, and compared to the last module, without any real direction!

However, after reading a couple of chapters from Dance as Education: Towards a National Dance Culture by P. Brinson, it's becoming clearer and clearer that my area of interest lies with dance within public education.

 i.e what is dances value within education? 

Is dance utilised enough within schools at present? If not, why not? 

Is dance still being stuck under the umbrella of P.E rather than being regarded as an independent subject like music or art? 

If it is, why is it not valued as much as music or art, both of which are similarly creative disciplines?

P. Brinson talks about the need for the gap between private and public dance education to be bridged...it seems like such a logical step forward to ensure that children nationally experience dance as part of their education, and yet it still hasn't happened! Why!?

I have no idea where to start researching all these questions...