Task 5b

In the previous task, I have talked about the professional codes of conduct and the various legislations that are in place that affect my job as a teacher. Working in a private school made me wonder if the school had any policies in place that would be different to those you expect to find in a state school. I have enquired at the school about any codes of conduct or ethics that the school set out for teaching staff when they start working there. There were a few minor differences, mostly based on the fact that it is a boarding school, so the expectation of pastoral care is slightly different to the normal school situation. As part of the peripatetic team of staff, it could be quite easy to ignore this sort of ethical responsibility, but I think that dance is an emotive subject and often the students will find it easier to tell me about their issues or problems than maybe another member of staff.
There are  differing regulations regarding health and safety due to the  amount of freedom that the children are given about the school grounds outside of normal school hours. There are also rules and regulations relating to behaviour,for the older children who are allowed offsite in the evenings.

Talking is good!

Very positive group Skype call today with Adesola. Group consisted of myself, Natalie Kirk also from Module 2 and Georgie Bird who is on Module 3. Both Natalie and I were struggling with the Ethics part of Module 2 but I now have a much better understanding of what is required for this topic. I am not sure how much help we were to Georgie, but she was certainly a help to us. As I have said in the past, it sometimes helps to talk through your problems and listen to other people talk through their problems and their solutions. I recommend that anyone having any sort of doubt or if you feel that you have hit a brick wall, these chats really help! It has also helped me understand the difference between doing this preparatory work in Module 2 to eventually carry out your inquiry in Module 3.

Another one tonight at 8.45pm so get on line and talk it through!

Change of Direction!

Following my original Blog regarding the questions for my inquiry, I have formed a Facebook group with several other dance teachers in my area, inviting them to comment and help with my inquiry. However, I have had such little response that I have decided to change tack completely. My new line of inquiry has  partly been inspired by a conversation over the weekend with the parent of a boy who was due to take a dance exam in three weeks and has now withdrawn. I am certain that if his exam was in tap or modern I would not have had this conversation, but of course, it was in ballet and being a 13 year old boy I think he may have fallen victim to peer pressure. So, my new line of inquiry is related to gender and dance and specifically how to encourage male participation in dance.

Anyone else following this line? Any comments would be gratefully received!

Task 5a - My thoughts on the codes of practice or regulations which guide my setting!

Sitting down and thinking about the codes of conduct or regulations which affect my current place of work, there are various things which spring to mind.

As a member of the British Ballet Organisation, I know that there is the teachers' code of conduct which details the ways a teacher is expected to behave ethically and morally within the community and in the best interest of the their students. I know of the rules pertaining to data protection and the safeguarding of students. There is also the requirement to hold an enhanced CRB clearance or DBS as it is now.

There are also the health and safety regulations which are relevant to my dance studio and also to the school environment that the studio is in. There are obviously a  set of school rules and regulations applicable to the students and also the expected behaviour and professionalism of myself as a teacher.

Literature

I have started investigating literature relating to my line of inquiry and I have come across a series of articles produced by www.communitydance.org.uk which are very informative. I particulary like this article http://www.communitydance.org.uk/DB/animated-library/conflict-content-and-context-in-the-ageing-body.html?ed=14041  where the author has literally created a piece of reflection on her creative practice which deals with the ageing performer but also talks about older teachers that have inspired the author. It also lists other articles, pieces of literature which are relevant to this topic, so I am looking forward to further reading.

More to come.....

Task 4a- Questions,questions,questions??

Having spent the last week pondering over my questions and which line of enquiry I was going to follow, I think I have finally made my decision. Having spoken to Alan yesterday, it became clear to me that I needed to focus on a line on enquiry that would be of benefit to me in developing MY professional practice.

I have, therefore decided to pursue the topic of the mature teacher. I am hoping to learn from this how people perceive the older dance teacher, both students and younger teachers, and also maybe challenge my own thoughts on how the more mature teacher is perceived.

Therefore:-

• Do older dance teachers command more respect from the students? Do they command respect from younger teachers? Should older teachers EXPECT to have more respect shown to them?

• What are perceived by mature teachers as the pro's and cons of being older?

• How do younger teachers perceive older ones and vice versa?

• Is physical ability essential to be a good teacher or are limitations acceptable?

• Should age be seen as a negative in a teacher/choreographer?

• Why do many advertisements for teaching vacancies apply an upper age limit?

I am certain that more questions will develop as I start to speak to other colleagues. I am not certain how many other students on the course may find this line of enquiry relevant to them, but I will be using other teaching friends and colleagues as targets for my enquiry.

Please feel free to comment on the relevance to you and your teaching. Thank you !

Making me think!

Well its been a long summer and this is the first time I have thought of blogging for a while. What prompted this sudden urge?? Well, it's GCSE results day today and my youngest daughter is full of nerves and trepidation! But, I have already started seeing reports that the number of A*-C passes has dropped again this year due to stricter marking!! Little consolation for the children who have worked just as hard as their predecessors and possibly even written exactly the same answers but will achieve a lower grade? Very frustrating for the students, but I found myself thinking about it from a teachers perspective. Here you are with a class of students that you have calculated should be due x percentage of A*-C grades, then when you analyse the results they are lower than in previous years and your expectations. You must start to have doubts about your teaching skills?? As a dance teacher I can pretty much gauge how well a child is going to do in their dance exams, allowing for mess ups on the day, but if I started to see a drop in the marks across the board I would immediately be questioning MY ability.

I could understand if they had already implemented changes to the exams - i.e. the publicised return to two levels of exams like the old 'O'Level and CSE combinations that were available when I took my exams. This would be clear to anyone in the future, as it was to me as an employer when GCSE's first started to appear on application forms for jobs. But as they are still GCSE's and effectively the same exams how can a future employer be expected to remember that up until 2011 the marks were easier to attain than in 2012 and 2013. Ridiculous!!!! Rant over, but wishing all GCSE students a happy day!