7.12: Integrating Principles of Child Development
- Page ID
- 294577
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Culture and society is impacted by what we teach our children. If Benjamin Disraeli was right, then “[t]he greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” What does this quote mean to you? What are riches? In your life, do you aim to make money and live on a yacht, serve others, or become famous? What about simply ‘doing good’ in the world? Dance instruction can be one pathway to do good. However, the values that drive you will drive the mood of your dance classroom and determine the intrinsic impact you can have on your students.
What if you are met with challenges in your dance classroom? Sometimes in a dance classroom there will be students that are misbehaving or simply ‘not feelin’ it’ that day. What do you do? Angrily expel them? Coddle them? What if it is a group of students that just cannot seem to focus that day? A skilled dance teacher will have a tool kit ready, a series of fun but educational activities to redirect unproductive behavior.
(Yann. (2009). Children dancing, International Day of Peace 2009, Geneva.. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_dancing,_Geneva.jpg)
Since an effective dance teacher needs to have some understanding of principles of child development, an understanding about the biological, psychological, and emotional changes that occur in human beings between birth and the conclusion of adolescence is vital. Child development is a continuous process that has a fairly predictable sequence, that is, as a child moves through their individual experience of human maturation, they will move from dependency to increasing autonomy (Piaget, 1964). This progression must be acknowledged and celebrated in the dance classroom! However, each child has a unique path to maturity as they develop into young adults, never progressing at the same rate as anyone else. Each stage of child development is affected by the preceding developmental experiences, and some students learn differently, and each dancer needs material presented to them differently (CAST, 2022; Gardner, 1990). Knowing that growth, development, and capacity are unique to each child is crucial to be a successful dance teacher.
Scenario Question:
- Boys and girls holding hands in your choreography. Do you force it? Do you mandate it? Do you meet your students where they are developmentally? Adjust?
- A three year old dancer accidentally pees during dance class. Puddle. Sanitize space. Manage child’s embarrassment. Peers. Extra leotard and tights in your bag. Your Reaction and Solution Matters. It might have lifelong implications.
Swiss developmental psychologist Jean Piaget (1896–1980) claimed that thinking processes change radically from birth through maturity when he posited his theory of child development (Piaget, 1964). A responsible dance teacher will see the striving in each student in their yearning to perform increasingly difficult dance steps, and even sometime mature material in choreography. As a dance teacher, especially for young people, we must ask ourselves “Is this choreography appropriate in terms of child development?” Take for example, the viral dance Single Ladies (2016) posted by autiefreestylefriday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0DtUcPTQEc
Ask yourself, how can choreography influence your students, and by extension, how does our work impact society? As a teacher or choreographer, what we “put out there” can cultivate an appetite for child exploitation or child sex trafficking in the world. It is vital to keep this in mind when creating choreography, and to always ask yourself, do I have a social responsibility as a teacher?
Keep the Group on Task. Consistent Expectations, Be Fair
- Clap and Response
- Freeze Dance
- Peer Review
- Stretch/Floor Barre Day
- Challenges (relevé competition)
- Seasonal/Creative Engagement with Vocab
- Meditation/ The Cube/Visualization ("Go To Your Room")
- Collage Dance Activity
- Alphabet Shapes: Spell Your Name
- "Sunshine" exercise for balance in arabesque
- Sandbag Visualization
- Go To Your Room Visualization
- The Cube
- Lining up Tallest to Shortest / Relevé competition
- Consistent spaces all season
- Arms in 2nd position to space the room
(Christine Ssenteza. (10-12-2016). Dancing to a traditional Kiganda dance from Uganda. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ugandan_Children_during_traditional_dance.jpg)
Ultimately, your students will become beautiful, mature butterflies. As a dance teacher, you could attempt to perceive the various stages in a butterfly’s life, as nascent caterpillars, or still inside a chrysalis requiring delicate coaxing to invite them out? If you think of your students as butterflies in the making, how does that change the way you view them?
“One of the most difficult things for teachers to do is to keep our expectations high, especially when our students’ actions make us think less of them. There were days my students challenged me to come up with any positive thoughts about them, but those were the days they needed me most. I saw a comment one time on a bulletin board: students need the most love when they least deserve it” (Blackburn, 2016, p. 29).
As a teacher you are accountable! Well, do you agree that you are accountable to yourself, your students, and to our society on the whole? As a dance teacher, we have a responsibility not just to children and the legacy of dance artistry and technical standards…But we have a moral obligation to cultivating an appetite for all things good and influencing our culture in a positive way… Always refer back to the most important question you can ask yourself as a dance specialist, a dance educator, or dance teacher who is making pedagogical choices: What are my ideals?
“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own.” --Benjamin Disraeli
- What does this quote mean to you?
- What are riches?
- In your life, do you aim to ‘do good’… or…?
- Why isn’t sharing a handout helpful?
- How do you view your moral obligation as a dance instructor?