Going with the inquiry line of using my dance and performance background to help me create a pathway for a career in primary education, these are a few questions I have asked myself and have also re-worded them to ask some colleagues of mine who have been in similar situations in that they have trained in a specific hobby and applied it to a career in education. I'll will be blogging soon with their response, but for now, here are some questions that came to mind for myself.
Will this knowledge and training be valuable to a primary school? If so, how?
I feel that at such a young age, it can be easy for children to become bored with school or attatch themselves to the stigma that it 'is rubbish' and that they have to go rather than wanting to go. Obviously, their whole school day wont involve making up dances and singing and dancing but i feel it is important to encorporate this in their way of learning. A lot of schools will generally allow after school clubs and PE to involve dance and drama classes, but how about using it as part of a learning curve as well? Having them research and make up plays about a specific topic, or for the younger ones, learning with simple sing-a-longs. Allowing children to express themselves through dance and movement. Of course, having a specific knowledge always helps in the PE classes and can help the childrens general fitness as well as giving them a specific one such as how to perform a 'technical' move. Its also a great tool to have come the themed holidays such as Christmas and Easter and being able to perform in school assemblies, it helps the children with public speaking and can prepare them for the next stage in their lives wether that be high school or an activity outside of school-it will all help boost their confidence in life.
Can the children gain anything?
The benefit of having a qualified dance teacher and gymnastics coach on a schools faculty is that I would be able to award the children with official badges and certificates and help enter them into any local competitions, festivals, community projects, or if the child wanted to progress further, recommend different classes specifically for this sport.
Do I need further qualifications to obtain a role in a primary school? If so, what and how can I achieve them?
In some cases no, I have lots of experience of working with children and was able to secure a job in London as a teacheing assistance off my experience alone. However, since moving back, I have filled out numerous application forms, been to only 2 interviews but been successful in neither. Upon requesting feedback, it was simply because I did not have the piece of paper to state I was qualified as a TA. There are a few options available to me to progress frther in a career in a education. I can enrol on a local college course and do a home study course which will give me that piece of paper needed to prove I have the ability to work with children. Ive looked into a few of these courses but this unortunately wont be something I can afford the time to do at the same time as this BAPP course. Upon completion of this course, there is then the option of a GTP course, which will allow me to train to be a teacher whilst working in the school, having their support and advise throughout. This would be the more ideal option for me as I feel i would gain a lot more experience, but from what i ave learnt is getting harder and harder to be accepted onto one of these courses, or indeed find a school who has funding to do so. I would also like to gain a first aid qualification for any emergecies.
Can dance and performing arts be enjoyable for both boys and girls in an education setting where they do not 'choose' to go?
I feel that at such a young age, both boys and girls will do whatever they will see as fun! I feel it is important to introduce this creativity into their lives at a young age so there have a basis for a fair opinion from their own experiences. Of course, we cant expect all children to like and enjoy everything they do at school, but i think there is a huge variety of activities under the dance and drama umbrella that children can become involved in whilst at primary school.
Will it be costly for the school? Equipment etc...?
I feel that to engage the children in dance and drama, minimal equipment costs are needed. If we were looking at broadening things by introducing gymnastics as well, smaller equipment would help such as mats, hoops and bean bags, all of which a primary school generally has anyway. If the school were interested in hiring a dance and drama teacher or a gymnastics coach for an hour at a time for PE or after school club, they could be looking at the person charging a large amount for just an hour, whereas if the person is already employed by the school and on a regular salary they have the benefits of being able to encorporate these classes into their everyday learning.
Will it be a sustainable career for myself and my future?
I recently moved back from London as I am due to get married, we have now just bought a house and the next step for us will be to have our own children. Before we get to that big step in our lives though, I want to know that i have security in a job and a career that i am comfortable with and enjoy. If i were to get a job in a primary school, i would feel confident that i would always be gaining experience ad learning new things and hopefully progressing within the sector. I understand that funding for schools can sometimes mean cut's in the assistant department which is why i will strive to gain a full teachers qualification within the next few years.
Could this help involve the community more in their understanding of dance and drama and the creativity of it?
Yes! I have a few times now involved myself in community out reach programmes teaching dnce and gymnastics to children who may not have had the opportunity to go to any private training classes before. Working with the school it could be a great idea to bring other schools together as would a netball or football tournament. It would mean the children are able to voice and show their skills to a wider audience, all the while, improving their confidence in meeting new people.
Monday 12 March 2012
Brainstorming....
So following my last post, I had a vague idea of which way i wanted this to go but not really a specific one. I have done 2 mindmaps and wanted to upload them to show the path of my understanding (of my own thoughts :-/) so far! I think going from this, it would be much more beneficial for me to look at using my knowledge and training in an educational setting. It seems from reading others blogs that there are others with a similar mind frame and so would be nice to converse an interact wih them. Whereas if i looked solely at the benefits of conjoining dance training with competitve gymnastics, i think i will find myself conversing with funnily enough, myself! So heres a sneak of my mind maps, questions i have asked myself and then follow on to ask others is going to be my next plan of action!
Also, i always thought i had a scanner/printer...unfortunately it is just your average printer so hopefully the quality of my picture of the mind map isnt too poor!
Also, i always thought i had a scanner/printer...unfortunately it is just your average printer so hopefully the quality of my picture of the mind map isnt too poor!
Professional enquiry-a start!
So after reading the course reader on Professional Inquiry, I should have a better knowledge of how to 'further investigate, explore, evaluate and explore my professional practice'....... Im just struggling to pin point my professional practice! I couldnt agree more with Emily-Sophia about her lack of motivation for starting this module, and the more I tried to get involved and gain further understanding, the more I started to fear and hideaway from it.
Im actually off sick from work today, and knowing how behind I already am with the workload, and also knowing that I probably couldnt feel much worse than I already do today, I thought why not take a good long look at my life and indeed where I would like it to go to and how i can pinpoint that down into one line of inquiry. See, I was hoping that from gaining this degree it would open up the pathway for a career, I had just never thought too seriously about what career that would be in a specific sense.
I have always worked with children and it is something I absolutly love doing. I started coaching gymnastics at the age of 14 and continued to take courses and progress to a head coach level, running local gymnastics classes and entering many gymnasts into national competitions. I have always done this alongside my dance training, which gave me a slight edge in that i was relatively bendy and had a few tricks up my sleeve when we got to that stage in our training where tricks were useful! So you would think, that having gone through 3 years professional dance training and loving working with children this would be a no brainer- why dont i become a dance teacher?! I would love nothing more than to feel at ease and motivated by this, but truthfully, I see dance teachers as creative adults who have great vision for choreography. This is where my problem lies- teach me a dance, Ill be one of the ones who can pick it up effortlessly, however, ask me to chreograph a dance, I could be there for hours thinking up a starting position! This generally is a thought process i have with a lot of things, even down to this WBL course. Ask me a question and I can answer or research it great, however, thinking up my own questions and trying to come up with my own theories is not something im all together confident with. I recognise this, and I am trying hard to work on it.
Teaching children is definately something have a passion for. I see teaching gymnastics as completely different because i feel it is more structured with the use of different equipment, however i also feel there is a real need for more dance technique within the training of a competitive gymnast. Could this be one of the paths i could lead on to, I have many friends/colleagues/peers whose professions range from full time gym coach, to full time dance teachers and also a gym coach who is currently performing in Singapore in a dance/circus show. Therefore giving me a 'line of enquiry' to start and progress with.
However, I would also love to one day work in a primary school. I was a TA for over a year and I loved the interaction with the children, how I could help out with drama classes and their school plays. When I first started on this course this is where i saw myself heading, and wanting to work. Unfortunatley, i had to leave that TA job as i re-located back home to buy a house and get married, and i am struggling to get my foot back into the primary school door without any TA qualifications. I have been volunteering with a special needs nursery as a TA but not as much as i would like with me working a full time job in customer services!
Sooooooo, this is where I'm up to, having to nail down exactly which way i want to go with this. Maybe i can join my two interests, looking at my dance and gymnastics training as one hobby conjoined, and using that as a leverage into working in a primary school and working my way onto the education ladder............? Im about to start brainstorming some questions to see if this helps clear things up with regards to looking at a profession, researching and developing it and eventually proposing an aard title with it!
Wish me luck!
Im actually off sick from work today, and knowing how behind I already am with the workload, and also knowing that I probably couldnt feel much worse than I already do today, I thought why not take a good long look at my life and indeed where I would like it to go to and how i can pinpoint that down into one line of inquiry. See, I was hoping that from gaining this degree it would open up the pathway for a career, I had just never thought too seriously about what career that would be in a specific sense.
I have always worked with children and it is something I absolutly love doing. I started coaching gymnastics at the age of 14 and continued to take courses and progress to a head coach level, running local gymnastics classes and entering many gymnasts into national competitions. I have always done this alongside my dance training, which gave me a slight edge in that i was relatively bendy and had a few tricks up my sleeve when we got to that stage in our training where tricks were useful! So you would think, that having gone through 3 years professional dance training and loving working with children this would be a no brainer- why dont i become a dance teacher?! I would love nothing more than to feel at ease and motivated by this, but truthfully, I see dance teachers as creative adults who have great vision for choreography. This is where my problem lies- teach me a dance, Ill be one of the ones who can pick it up effortlessly, however, ask me to chreograph a dance, I could be there for hours thinking up a starting position! This generally is a thought process i have with a lot of things, even down to this WBL course. Ask me a question and I can answer or research it great, however, thinking up my own questions and trying to come up with my own theories is not something im all together confident with. I recognise this, and I am trying hard to work on it.
Teaching children is definately something have a passion for. I see teaching gymnastics as completely different because i feel it is more structured with the use of different equipment, however i also feel there is a real need for more dance technique within the training of a competitive gymnast. Could this be one of the paths i could lead on to, I have many friends/colleagues/peers whose professions range from full time gym coach, to full time dance teachers and also a gym coach who is currently performing in Singapore in a dance/circus show. Therefore giving me a 'line of enquiry' to start and progress with.
However, I would also love to one day work in a primary school. I was a TA for over a year and I loved the interaction with the children, how I could help out with drama classes and their school plays. When I first started on this course this is where i saw myself heading, and wanting to work. Unfortunatley, i had to leave that TA job as i re-located back home to buy a house and get married, and i am struggling to get my foot back into the primary school door without any TA qualifications. I have been volunteering with a special needs nursery as a TA but not as much as i would like with me working a full time job in customer services!
Sooooooo, this is where I'm up to, having to nail down exactly which way i want to go with this. Maybe i can join my two interests, looking at my dance and gymnastics training as one hobby conjoined, and using that as a leverage into working in a primary school and working my way onto the education ladder............? Im about to start brainstorming some questions to see if this helps clear things up with regards to looking at a profession, researching and developing it and eventually proposing an aard title with it!
Wish me luck!
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