Another note from my sister on the subject of John Ratey & his work: “I just came back from a talk by Harvard psychiatrist John Ratey on the relationship between exercise and learning. His final comment in the presentation, during the question and answer period, was this: “I think dance is the ultimate best exercise.” […]
Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'
Make your day dance…
October 4th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
One of my wonderful 5th graders said to me once, “Make your day dance!” …and captured the essence of dance as a transformative experience. Watch this little clip, and transform yourself with a smile…
Didya know? Exercise is good for the brain…
September 28th, 2009 · 3 Comments · Uncategorized
My sister sent a reference to SPARK, a book written by Dr. John Ratey of Harvard Medical School & filled with case studies exploring the connection between exercise and the brain. It tells those of us who teach dance what we already know. But given the current trends in education, there are a lot of […]
Tags:brain·research·thinking skills
Time — urgent vs. sustained
September 27th, 2009 · 7 Comments · Uncategorized
I’ve had the opportunity to be thinking about time lately, both quantitatively & qualitatively — an opportunity that’s arisen from a drastic cut in the quantity of my instructional time this year. Not surprisingly, I perceive this cut to be affecting the quality of instruction. To cut to the quick, and at the risk of […]
Thank you, dance network…
September 24th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
A remarkable & intriguing performance by Jerome Murat — and one of those things I only know of because I’m a member of DEAW & daCi. Grateful when people find tidbits to share!
Tags:performance
New year, new challenge: learning about autism
September 17th, 2009 · 6 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
Perhaps related to economic pressures, our student numbers jumped from 320 to 380 this September. Sixteen of our new students belong to two self-contained classrooms & are diagnosed as severely impacted by Autism Spectrum Disorders. I’m learning quickly & first-hand what that means, since I provide 30 minutes of instruction for 8 of the children […]
An anecdote
September 2nd, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Last week while learning the particulars of Writers Workshop, I had to write a “personal narrative” in order to work through the process. Personal narratives — stories of small & true moments — are foundational in the Writers Workshop method. Since the one I developed came straight from my life as a dance educator, here […]
Translating Writers Workshop
August 31st, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
Pedagogy changes constantly. When I was a 5th-6th grade classroom teacher for a few years (15 years ago), the writing pedagogy sweeping through schools was characterized by 6 traits (content, voice, organization, word choice, fluency & conventions). I was trained in teaching the traits & scoring writing samples using rubrics built on them. Nowadays, however, […]
Tags:choreography·curriculum integration·getting started·obstacles·PD·teaching·thinking skills
Life comes back to the classroom
August 31st, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
The first traces: Barely begun, but a whole different state of mind compared with two and a half months ago.
Tags:getting started·space
A new year
August 30th, 2009 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
As the start of a new school year approaches, it looms large. I write lists to clear my brain. Then I have lists, as well as an overloaded brain. Most ominous among my thoughts is “What am I going to teach and how?” In the largest sense. How am I going to organize everything I […]
Tags:chaos·curriculum·curriculum integration·getting started·obstacles·problems·teaching