Wednesday 7 March 2012

Task 4d - Award Title

Please Help! 


The award title is a very big decision to make and I am not sure how specific it should be.  The handbook gave examples of 'Musical Theatre', 'Performing Arts', 'Arts Management'.  The examples are quite general, I think this is a better option rather than being specific.  I want to go for quite a general title as I don't want to limit my options.  I am unsure what direction I want to take, I know I want to teach full time but not sure if that is in primary or secondary.  Obviously in Primary you teach everything and if my award title was in 'dance' then I don't think it is suitable.  I am more likely to go into secondary education to teach dance as this is what I have trained to do but I want to keep my options open.  Is the title in 'education' very vague? I think it is and I am looking to do my inquiry in dance education in schools so something with dance in the title seems more appropriate?  This needs more thought (and help please?) So if anyone has an idea it would be much appreciated :)  Thanks 

The award I seek as a result of doing
this programme is BA (Hons) Professional Practice in xxxxx
xxxxxxxx”

Task 4b - SIG

I currently teach part time and I am hoping to teach full time.  I am looking into teaching GCSE dance in secondary education.  The reader says that the inquiry should be something that will benefit your work, so I will be looking at dance in secondary schools.  I have contacted my old teacher, and I will be going into a few classes and hope to carry out my research there.  


I have joined LinkedIn and hope to discuss my similar interests with the group Liam created.  I have also added a few Bappers on Facebook and hope to join groups on there.  


Feel free to add My Facebook if you think we could be SIGs :)

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Task 4a - Questions

Looking back at task 2d it helped as a starting point and it has made me ask more questions..


I am a dance teacher hoping to teach full time in the future.  I trained at professional dance college to become a professional dancer.  However, circumstances changed and I now teach dance, which is extremely rewarding for me.  I trained at a local dance school, my teacher never went to dance college and so had no experiences or history about the dance industry.  I wouldn't change anything I have done, and I know I could influence peoples decisions to help them take the right path - as i would say i learnt the hard way.  As a teacher I thought I should come up with questions solely on teaching but having thought more about it I also think it is beneficial to look at dance as a whole even though I don't perform professionally.  I teach students who want to progress onto dance college and with more knowledge about the dance world, i would be more beneficial to those aspiring dancers.  Doing my inquiry based on teaching would also help the people I teach and hopefully other teachers and the dance schools i work for.  So I am going to look at questions from both sides as I am unsure which path i will take.




Should a dance school / college be run as a business or as more of a hobby?
I auditioned for colleges where you could tell it was all run for a profit only and everything was done for money, and the principal was not ever a dancer or even seemed one bit interested in dance.  I went to others where the principal was a dancer and was passionate  about producing dancers that got jobs.


Do exams actually help a dancer wanting to perform or are they more beneficial to those who want to continue through to teaching?


Is there a certain look that employers go for when employing dancers?


Should children start dancing at such an early age?


What could / would / should you do if you knew there was a pushy parent and the child was unhappy about dancing but was being forced into it?


Should Scholarships really be given on ability or be means tested? As this could result in a family not being able to fund their childs career when that is all they want to do.  Also a family may be very 'well off' and can easily afford it but don't need to pay due to the child receiving a scholarship.


What is the best way to keep students enthusiasm?


How often should shows be put on at a local dance school?


If a student is at a high standard could they go straight into performing instead of attending full time college?


How involved in a dance school should you be if you are only one of the teachers?


Should a teacher continue their training and developing practice to be the best they can?


Is dance / performing arts looked upon as an 'easy' subject?
I remember when I took dance as a subject at high school, it was known that others had taken it as an easy subject (more practical than theory)


If this is the case how do you make sure they take it seriously?




I have emailed a few people who are in the education sector and will posts responses when they are received