With my classes cut to 30 minutes this year, it’s been more important than ever to define a single clear teaching point for each class, so I’ve taken to writing on the board the kernel of learning I want the kids to grasp. I start with it, I teach to it, & I end with […]
Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'
Holiday dances? Which holidays?
December 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
Holidays in the public schools… now there’s a topic with little agreement! There are proponents for including all of them… for celebrating the most visible… for distinguishing between education & celebration… for celebrating none… There are legal opinions, personal opinions & curriculums… Many questions, but no prefect answer. When I was growing up, holiday projects […]
The logistics of low-key
December 16th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Uncategorized
Last year’s winter performance, scheduled for just about now, with a performance in the afternoon for the kids and another in the evening for families, was snow- and ice-stormed out. So this year, we decided on a low-key performance: Audience: the kids Performers: instrumental musicians & anyone who wants to contribute. This afternoon. Low-key, but […]
Tags:logistics·performance·teaching
Dancing through thick and thin…
December 9th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
November was a challenging month, and I’m still looking for December to work some special magic. Upheaval and turmoil aside, the daily schedule continues… 25 kids, 8 times a day, five days a week… sometimes I wonder how. But classes get planned, executed, tracked & reflected upon. ‘Cause appropriate instruction is the difference between order […]
Tags:curriculum·teaching·video
Dancers are changing the world step by step
November 29th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
This lovely story, via Anne Green Gilbert, deserves to be passed on — along with her greeting, which is the title of this post.
Probably not today
November 11th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Thoughts abound, but time is scarce. No classes today, but plenty of work: email, upcoming conferences, journals to read. Probably no blogging. Meanwhile, having me at home makes the cat frisky.
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Eddie Uehara: Dance Quotes
November 9th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Here’s a good excuse for a smile, no matter what else is going on… via Corey Mahoney, most recently
Tags:video
Learning about dance & autism, or what to do when you don’t know what to do
October 29th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
With an expanded student population this year, my schedule is pretty crazy — 40 classes per week with 5 different plans per day. Also new is that I serve two self-contained classes of autistic students. Given no previous experience with autism, I’m reading up on it, but I’m also doing a fair amount of learning-on-the-run, […]
Creating a time & place for flow
October 25th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
Last Tuesday, my fifth graders clicked into flow, despite the frantic limitations of this year’s 30-minute classes, and it crossed my mind that I might survive. Cause flow is why I teach & what keeps me going. Flow is the mental state of operation in which the person is fully immersed in what he or […]
Groove your bump!
October 19th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Early, early dance ed… Via Maya Soto