Diversity & Dance
Due to the influential dance educators during my dance career, I was inspired to become a dance educator myself. Seeing students’ faces and eyes light up, their smiles, and their sheer sense joy and excitement when they connect to what is being learned and achieved success in a task is one of the most rewarding experiences. I believe the teacher’s most important task is to encourage students to reach their full potential by fostering an environment that allows them to be curious and enthusiastic learners. Dance is the expression of emotions, thoughts, concepts, and perspective through movement. Dance is freedom. Since dance is such an expressive and vulnerable art form, students should feel a sense of calmness and security when they are learning. Even if it does not become a career path for a student, it is a phenomenal and satisfying thing for one to gain an understanding of and to appreciate dance. It teaches discipline and professionalism, valuable life skills and qualities that can help students strive to achieve their goals. Dance also has a plethora of cognitive, psychological, emotional, and physical benefits. It helps a child explore his or her imagination and get to know who they are as a person. As a form of exercise, dance is especially important now when many children spend so much of their time on technology. Dance represents one of the most valuable things in life—creating meaningful connections with others.
An important ideology in education is having the open-mindedness to allow students to explore possibilities. I began my dance training later than most, in high school. My very first dance teacher had a similar teaching philosophy as my own. Unlike the more experienced dance students, I did not have the same level of dance technique, artistry or self-confidence. However, my dance teacher had much hope for me and encouraged me to believe in myself and to push myself to reach my goals. Through the continuous motivation and support of my teacher, I was able to gain the skills and mindset I needed, and I want my students to see beyond what they think they are capable of. I aim to build and maintain the same open, reciprocal, constructive relationships that I had with my teacher with my own students. Gaining confidence in themselves and building autonomy will benefit them in all aspects in life. I aspire to help my students grow into self-sufficient, innovative, unique individuals.
I believe in recognizing and celebrating diversity in the classroom. Each student differs in race, ethnicity, religion, orientation, cultural background, upbringing and physical ability. Utilizing each child’s unique qualities, strengths, and attributes, will enhance my lesson plans and the overall learning experience. In school, I was a part of a small learning community called the Center for Social Justice that focused on societal-based issues. The experiences I had in this program and with my peers had a positive, lasting impact on me, and thus I discovered I have a passion for exploring social justice issues. I want to help my students to understand the importance of embracing diversity and having an understanding of the world they live in. I hope to do this by combining my passion for dance with relevant and stimulating instruction, analyzing and discussing current events; particularly through utilizing a constructivist approach in my classroom. My teaching plans would include a variety of activities from creating dances based on societal inequalities, improvisation in reference to one’s own past and present life, and teaching and performing dance pieces from various cultures. Since these areas are related to students’ real lives, they will resonate with them and support their learning in an intrinsic manner.
I hope the implementation of my teaching pedagogy will advance education and school curriculum in a contemporary, culturally-relevant way, and have a positive influence on the school system in which I will work. Moreover, having experienced clinical fieldwork in educational settings and learned relevant teaching theories, I have grown to know myself as having a teaching pedagogy that combines dance technique, social awareness and the individual student’s role in their own learning. I aspire to send my students into the world as the knowledgeable, well-rounded, imaginative individuals that they are destined to be.
