After
reading the course reader I made a list of all the things I would like to
achieve in the next few years with regards to work and my career. This has
enabled me to plan out the next three years for which I have set myself yearly
goals. My end goal after the 3 years is to have completed my NQT and first year
as a performing arts teacher. After spending the past year teaching dance
and drama as a long term supply teacher I have been able to gain firsthand
experience of what it will be like having my own class room, classes and all
the responsibilities that come with it. This got me to thinking about the
changes I would make and the relevance of the subject? I created a survey and
asked fellow colleagues at work within the performing arts department to fill
it out. I asked both secondary school teachers and the freelance teachers
within my network as I have completely different experiences teaching the same
subject both in school and outside. Here are the questions I asked:
What
do you enjoy most about teaching?
What
do you enjoy the least?
What
inspires or motivates you in your job?
What
would you change about your job if you could?
Do
you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
Make
a list of pros and cons about teaching performing arts
Hana Greaves- Dance Teacher KS3 & KS4
What
do you enjoy most about teaching?
Spending
time with young people in practical lessons when they get inspired by choreography.
What
do you enjoy the least?
Completing
data
What
inspires or motivates you in your job?
Working
with students that are eager to do well and enjoy the subject. Also working
with students that are challenging and they have a complete turnaround.
What
would you change about your job if you could?
Spending
more time with KS4
Do
you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
My inspiration to become a
teacher derived from volunteering in schemes such as a mentoring programme for
SEN students, a dance rehabilitation programme for NHS mental health patients
and spending time in a disability unit teaching dance to disabled students (see
appendix one). During this time, I found that working with young people brings
new challenges every day and that nothing is ever predictable. This inspired me
to want to work with fresh minds, hungry for information.
I
chose to be a subject specialist in Dance because I believe that Dance is an
important subject within the National Curriculum as it coalesces both physical
literacy with creativity and imagination, whilst also teaching life skills that
are vital for a student’s future career and success. Dance as a subject,
develops student’s spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) education;
every school is obliged to educate students about SMSC as they are crucial
skills needed after compulsory education. This is what makes Dance such a
valued aspect in the National Curriculum as many academic subjects can find it
difficult to address SMSC standards. The importance of SMSC education is backed
up by The Education (Independent School Standards, 2012) as they have recently
revised their standards and focuses to put higher importance on SMSC education,
coming into effect from January 1st 2013 (Department for
Education 2013, A). I find my strength and the most rewarding aspect of
teaching Dance is when I work with the less able and more challenging students
who have become disengaged with the rigour of more academic subjects.
These are the students that a Dance teacher can make a big impact upon and
change the outcomes of that student’s life for the better. Dance teaches
students that there are different skills to be learnt in order to gain success
other than conventional academic skills
Natalie Mccool- Singing teacher 4-19yrs
extra-curricular
What
do you enjoy most about teaching?
Helping
people to learn and also giving them help & support throughout the learning
process. I also enjoy the satisfaction of seeing a student give a great
performance after learning a song.
What
do you enjoy the least?
The
discipline side - I feel that as a teacher of performing arts, as it is extracurricular,
students should really want to try hard and be very focussed in lessons - also
I think that a teacher is there to teach and not to lecture students on
behaviour. Therefore when a student loses focus or misbehaves I feel
uncomfortable and unsure how to resolve the situation. I think every teacher
needs someone to support them and also to discipline a student when this
situation arises.
What
inspires or motivates you in your job?
I
love to perform and I love to see others perform too.
What
would you change about your job if you could?
Regards
to point 2 - Not necessarily my own job but teaching in general - I think
teachers should have a lot more support when it comes to actual behavior of
their students. I think far too much pressure is put on teachers
especially in state schools to teach their students to a very high standard but
also to keep their behavior in check - I think that is too much to
take on and a lot of teachers are spread very thinly in their jobs.
Do
you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
I
think it is extremely important because it is one of the most popular forms of
self expression and I think young people really need it. I think performing
arts is as important as maths or science - in Britain performing arts culture
& creative culture drives the economy, and it's a travesty that it isn't
given equal status to core subjects such as english, maths & science in
schools, this needs to change.
Make a list of
pros and cons about teaching performing arts
Pros
- get to teach something you love
- The training you have had is paying off (university degree / college
qualifications) as you are working within your desired industry
- Students who want to learn performing arts are normally very focussed and
passionate
Cons
- The discipline issue I have mentioned above
- If you are a singer and teach singing, your voice gets worn out quickly when
teaching a class of students as they can be loud and sometimes misbehaved. This
damages the asset most important to your career (your voice).
Lisa Connor- Dance teacher-
Extra-curricular
What
do you enjoy most about teaching?
Seeing
students achieve goals and helping them to learn. Making a difference in their
lives in some-way or another.
What
do you enjoy the least?
The
hours of planning that go into lessons for such a short class time.
What
inspires or motivates you in your job?
The
fact that the students are mostly there because they want to be and being able
to inspire and encourage them to have as much passion and love for dance as I
do.
What
would you change about your job if you could?
Nothing!
Do
you think performing arts is important in school at KS3? If so why?
Yes
because not all students are “academic” students, they all excel in different
areas. It gives them a chance to express themselves and learn through
exploration as opposed to sitting in a classroom every lesson.
Make a list of pros and cons about
teaching performing arts
Pros
Learning
discipline
Improves
memory and recall skills
Form
of exercise
Let’s
student explore
Cons
Not
all students are willing to participate
Rehearsals
take time, sometimes out of school and attendance can be low
Shy
students don’t always want to share their work
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