Recent reflections: dance as an approach to the lived experience!

I recently went to a teaching conference:

Session one Keynote: Stacey Bess author of 'Nobody Don't Love Nobody' about a school she taught at for 13 years in a homeless shelter.

When you invest in children you invest in their families.

Parents ask for their children two things: don't stomp on their spirit, please love them 

Children ask: "Don't expect me to trust you just be a good teacher"

To do this  - follow through say "I will stay" and mean it; keep promises

Tell children they are incredible

Good learning and teaching is to care deeply about the students you are teaching.

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Much domestic violence today is between older siblings (who have to care for younger ones and are still immature themselves) and younger siblings. 

It is not necessary to hide behind your credentials children remember our humanity

Children that no-one took time to reach become adults who still need to find the humanity in themselves and others (my interpretation of what was said)

Humanity is needed in our schools look at the children first then the rules! 

My reflection: Children teach us how to teach. We each have memories of particular children that have taught us a lesson. As teachers we keep these safe within us. But  sometimes (within the situation of being with at risk environments) these stories are heavy to carry and sharing them in a good way gives life to the memory and lifts the burden of caring the memory by holding it in a situation where there was also pain (at risk). By sharing our lesson we remember children in the spirit of their joy and as the teachers they are. That is what Stacey Bess was doing.

Art ain't fluff - Merryl Goldberg

Many Higher Edu. (HE) students who will be teachers soon do not have art experience themselves. It unlocks doors for them when they realise the worth and potential they have themselves through creating things. "I created this, I like the feeling of re-working, of self realisation..." HE student

It becomes a social justice point - who gets art and who doesn't 

"May students dreams are broken by disbelief ..." art can be used to re-ignite and deal with belief/doubt/dreams(my interpretation)

Various projects and ideas were shared.

My reflection: this session gave more power to my confirmed belief that arts cannot be taught as a subject but is an approach. It is hard to access the whole power of the arts when they are done within a system (or curriculum) which is based on rejection of the fundamental principles much art is based on. Therefore art is useful in schools (beyond learning the skills of particular art forms) as an approach to inquiry, wonder, discovery and reflection changing the structure of the lesson itself not being the subject of the lesson (unless it is to teach formal technical skills in a given art form)

Will you be my partner?: Collaboration within a classroom, a school and a community - Melissa Thomson, Andrea Faulkner, Rachel Kolb & Rosario Casiano

Memories of school we may not remember a specific fact but we remember the way it made us feel/ we remember what we felt.

Collaboration as a climate for inquiry and learning/teaching (my interpretation).

they shared different collaboration structures

they shared different programmes they have in their school particularly ones that address  English as a Second language and the 48 languages spoken in the school.

They moved from how teachers collaborate to how the staff then collaborates with parents (again looking at communication that is accessible even when it is across two languages

Inc. 'Coffee with the principle' once a month, international days, family book club on Saturdays, Donuts with Dad, library card sign-up day. In school reading workshops showing parents how to 'read' a book with their children even if they can't read the language of the text. (look at pictures, predict etc...) 

My Reflection: (reminded me of what we were trying to do at Pembury) Bridge the gap between home and school. Making sure that things introduced in school (such as a particular book) do not then carry with them a cultural context that means the child must let go of their cultural identity from home to pick-up a homogenous Western identity at school. Collaboration is about maintaining a sense of self while being able to be apart of a group - I felt the goals and achievements they shared reflected this in that it was about the child being a part of school without loosing who they were at home.

 Flip it Good! Creating an interactive Flipped experience in the at risk classroom - Llyod Goldburg & Sara Boucher

About blended and on-line classrooms.

Why flip? because it gets rid of worksheets!!! Testing is moving on-line, increase communication between school and home, individualised experience, it 2015...

It meets IT standards too!

They shared applications and strategies  Biggest point was FEEDBACK is really important.

All very useful as I like to teach in a flipped classroom which really is what a dance class is.

My reflection: The use of internet allows for communication across locations. For instance Grandparents, parents and identified people who are far away can comment and add to children's blogs, Students have time to think as they can return to on-line study at any point. Teachers can have long conversations that span thought - go away try something - comment - etc… then the classroom altogether is about discussion, sharing experience asking questions, looking at what they discovered/created.