Approaches to dance education (Whitehead and Akinleye)

Education from the waist up, and slightly to one side

Whilst included in the primary school curriculum, physical education within this setting is often seen as a supplementary and periphery subject. ‘As children get older we gradually educate them from the waist up, and then we focus on the brain, and slightly to one side’ (Robinson, 2006). Educating the physical body is viewed as being of secondary importance and hold less weight or emphasis than more academic subjects such as maths and literacy. Though many teachers acknowledge the benefits in terms of health and well-being, that is often where the value of physical education ends.

Adesola Akinleye begins to unpick some possible reasons for this, explaining that ‘the body has become medicalised – something to observe objectively, diagnose, fix and ‘work on’’ (2013)’. Our physical abilities are merely then something to be harnessed and manipulated in order to achieve the ambitions and aims of the more important brain, a form of transport. We see this in that people often do not pay much attention to the body unless it is lacking in some way, through illness or injury for example. This dualism, often mirrored in education, views the mind, body and emotions as separately educated entities of the human experience. Little interplay perhaps takes place within the primary education curriculum and there is a great bias skewed towards the former.

As a result of this philosophy, often less time, emphasis and training is given to delivering physical education within the primary school setting, with focus instead on academic and cognitive development. This dualism appears to be rather an unnatural human state, children are naturally very physically active from an early age, playing games, climbing over furniture, banging and chewing toys. When we find them singing, they often naturally dance also and vice versa, interaction and involvement of the self in the world is holistic. This holistic learning seems almost to be ‘educated out of us’ as we sit at desk using acute motor movements with pencil to harness all learning of the brain in one direction. The role of physical education could therefore be seen to rekindle this interactive relationship between mind body and emotions.

The body as a primary way of experiencing the world

Margaret Whitehead begins to identify a deeper role for the body within physical education which has significant implications for this area and others in primary education. She describes

‘Our bodily dimension is integrally involved in most aspects of our existence-not least in the establishment of a meaningful relation- ship with the world around us. Taken from this viewpoint our body and its motility can be seen to have an equal claim for attention in education alongside our other attributes which give life its meaning’ (1990)

The physical body is the primary way in which our mind and emotions interacts with the world. As it is heavily involved in our existence so it potentential to provide us with learning opportunities should be also.

This philosophy finds the body is key veihle for learning from infancy and into adulthood. Huge attention is paid to a childs early physical development, charting the first cry, smile, bounce, clap, crawl, stand and walk. Why should this development of physical motility then suddenly stop or be fizzles out at some age? If the body is a primary means to learning then learning that takes place without consideration of the physical element is surely insufficient and lacking. Likewise movement teaching, whether sport or dance, should not be absent minded an ambigious but connected with thoughtful reflection, observance and opinions about own experience and feelings. Both of these offer a considerable challenge.

Embodied to notice a wealth of self capacity in rich surroundings 

The implication of this philosophy for Whitehead is a need to foster a greater awareness of both the richness of our surroundings and the wealth of our capacities as individuals within the world to interact with it.

Dance or physical education could perhaps be defined as ‘becoming embodied’. Though we are in our bodies all the time, it is at this moment that the individual is called to bring awareness to notice their physical self in each given moment, where it is, what it is doing, why it is doing so, and how this can happen. This could include spatial relationships of distance and own proprioception, use of muscle tension, force and reactivity to surroundings. What potetial does it have beyond the movement means of normal life, which are fairly limited to walking, arm gestures, sitting and standing. The can educate their bodies to new potential movement possibilies that they had not previously discovered and then refine them.

As part of embodiment, the individual becomes aware of the nature of the surroundings in which they are situated and their thoughts/feelings towards them. What do they sense, hear, smell, taste and touch etc.. How will they react and respond, what can they and will they do with the information they have. We see this often for example in young children in that when they enter a big space they immediately want to run around in it, to knock down a tall tower or hit a balloon in the air. With what inquisitiveness, impulsion or thoughtfulness will they interact with the space, people and objects around them.

‘The body holds huge potential for movement, yet very little of these capabilities are tapped into during every day life. The aim of physical education is to develop these embodied faculties to enable pupils to achieve effective liaison in progressively more complex and demanding situations.’ (Whitehead, 1990)

Akinleye describes dance as the conversation between these two elements, self in the world, Within this state the body and mind interact and dialogue with one another in a reciprocal relationship. All three partner in experiencing, being valued and listened to and making choices. There is a ‘connection made between sensation and meaning’ (Akinleye, 2013).

‘The real value of physical education…lies in the development of a specific mode of relating to the world, not lived with the usual casual presump-tion, but in which the mover is acutely aware of the totality of his embodiment in its reciprocal interaction with the patterns of force and resistance in the world. (Whitehead, 1990)

Applications to practice?

How does this then relate to physical education and dance sessions within primary education, what practical methods and teaching technques can then be used to translate this priority into practice?

How can sessions encompass the whole individual, mind, body and emotions?

-       What time and space are children given to explore their own movement choices

-       How are they encouraged to express opinions, preferences, likes and dislikes, and give reasons for these

-       How are they encouraged to solve movement problems using task work

How can we increase awareness of self, awareness of the world, and conversation between these two?

-       Drawing attention to them noticing and trying different spaces, times and forces with their bodies and noticing their potential

-       What can they notice about the space, props or other children around them? How do the want to physically respond to this?

References

Whitehead, M. (1990). ‘Meaningful Existence, Embodiment and Physical Education’, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 24, 1

Akinleye, A. (2013). ‘Health, decolonization and the language of dance’ Animated, 2013, 2

Robinson, K. (2006) ‘How schools kill creativity’ TED Talk