Dewey on the buses

In the past I have always mentioned and continue to value bus journeys.  They always seem to flag up interesting conversations, observations, and quite unexpected encounters.  Plus also it is a great time for me particularly if I have a long journey a time to read and reflect relatively uninterrupted.  It is with this reflection or reading in mind that a book I am reading on Dewey was a segue into a conversation I had with a fellow passenger.

On my way to work I pulled out a copy of Dewey and the Lessons of Art with the intention of reading a couple of pages when a woman opposite who noticed the front cover me asked if that was a Dewey book I was reading. I replied yes and she commented that she had just studied Dewey as part of a PhD she was currently doing which involved young children, education and the arts.  She had a real interest in early years and her research was focused on children in the early years and I suppose when they finally make the transition into the education system. Her interest was in music. The conversation that unfolded between us revealed  her passion for education and her belief that  not enough reference and recognition was made as to the power of the arts to transform  children's lives in school and especially  at an early age.  She said how important it was to start young with children and engage them in the arts in someway  and contribute to their overall education and how much they appeared more engaged.  I thought as she spoke about  how Dewey talks about the value and experience of the arts to transform lives.  I did ponder the question though particularly about engaging children very young and experiences - what of a person who does not engage with the arts until at a much older age when they go through life experiences, puberty twists and turns without  engagement in the arts until much later does it mean that they miss out? I appreciate the value in engaging children at a young age because they are fresh, curious 100% creative and resourceful but as they grow up that creativity could be under threat of being diminished as they got older and fully involved in their environment, reasoning, multiple-layered and complex experiences.  There are a raft of experiences that a young person goes through that require some form of expression and articulation and if it is not in the arts at an early stage then it might appear through another avenue of engagement or experience.

The lady encountered on the bus is a parent and also a governor at a local primary school and was able to give an example where she complained that the school was so  tightly focused on education devoid of the impact of the arts that  any attempt to introduce/promote  the arts was not met with enthusiasm until.... some funding was made available for a  programme of arts activities and THEN a transformation happen Children were more engaged, more alert and curious, enjoyed learning!

In that encounter I reflected on my journey and couldn't help recalling my early experiences of the arts in school namely dance.  I enjoyed all of the other forms of art i.e. drama, visual art, singing and for me they were not separate but formed a whole picture of my engagement with the world and my immediate environment around me.  Its interesting how our experiences lead to decisions and choices and the legacy of which for me my journey unfolded into encounters with dance and music education and here I am now.  I was very lucky at both primary and secondary school to have those experiences because without them who knows where I would be now!  

John Dewey also made another appearance  at a meeting the previous week when I attended a meeting of Community Adult Learning providers.  It turns out that one of the providers studied English at university and came across Dewey whom she loved.  It was evident that Dewey had an impact on her lived experiences and choices and she said that his writings had an influential and positive effect on her life in education and learning - she wished she had more time from within her job to re-read his books.

 Back to the bus as we continued to share our experiences of what the arts meant for us and our lived experiences  it caused me to pause... and feel... what was this experience all about? The physicality of that experience happened but it was the space in between that experience which caused the pause for thought... what was the essence? I began to reflect on our shared enthusiasm, common purposes and directly  how my journey led me to this bus journey experience.  What came to mind much later was when finally managing to  pick up the book and read Philip W. Jackson says:

           " The distinction between experiences connected with the arts and those connected with life in                  general is by no means absolute. This too is a crucial part of Dewey's message.  The arts, he                  insists are not the sole source of aesthetic pleasure. They are not the only repository of the                      holistic and the unified.  Nor are they the only place to go when we are looking for  a sense of                satisfaction and fulfilment.  Any job well done yields rewards akin to those associated with the              production or appreciation of art.  Instead of being unique in experiential terms, what the arts                  offer are but refinements of qualities to be found in ordinary experience...." (LW10,  52-52) ,                  p.6

I love bus journeys!!

Ref:
Jackson, Philip W, (1998) John Dewey and the Lessons of Art

Thoughts on Observations

I had a really interesting and surprisingly productive day at one of my other roles as a freelance Education Development Manager for an organization called Independance.  Part of the remit of the job was to look after and run the community adult learning provision as part of   a contractual agreement to deliver adult learning in Lambeth. At Independence we deliver an inclusive  adult disability programme for adults with learning difficulties (b.diverse), a fitness programme  (Freez) designed for adults to engage in a dance programme to increase their skills and flexibility in a fun and accessible way through the medium of Street Dance, and finally a Lindy Hop programme, more of a social dance programme purely for fun, meeting people developing confidence and generally having a good time whilst learning how to do the ‘Fall-off-the Log” or Shorty George!.  

Independence is also a part of a cohort of other providers who deliver adult learning across the borough and are all very different in profile, content delivery, to Independence who is the only arts deliverer in this case.  As a provider of this service there is a requirement to attend various training workshops, of which this one today was relevant.   The training was entitled “Observation of Teaching, Learning and Assessment” and as a member of the providers network there are termly observations of teaching, learning practice focusing on the learners who are the end users essentially. It was aimed at helping us to improve how we observe and what to look for and identify what good teaching is/was.  A comment was made that when observing it was down to a matter of personal  interpretation and it was therefore important to standardize observations in terms of the types of language used to make rational judgements.  One thing particularly Lambeth Learning noticed was that the observation reports were almost always descriptive and didn’t always provide enough evidence to make an assessment against what was being observed.  For instance instead of saying that something was ‘good’ then why?  I admit that as a dance teacher I often get really nervous when anybody watches how I teach. I almost always fear the worst.  I usually clam up and notice the pitch and tone of my voice changes due to nerves and in the commentary that goes on in the back of my mind I ask  whether I am doing good, or ‘I’m  bad teacher and will be found out and judged harshly!!!’ or people who observe me couldn’t have come at a more worst time for me as I am feeling so off today! All sorts of thoughts racing in my mind.

That aside what was interesting  in the workshop today was the learning outcomes for me to become more confident when completing observations as a co-provider observing practice of other adult learning providers in the borough; to be able to make clear judgments against a common inspection framework which Adult Learning has to adhere to satisfy Skills Funding Agency criteria; and to understand for myself what the procedures are for observations and how this leads to improvements in practice.  This was the flip side and role change for me from that as a dance tutor to now learn how to become an observer of teaching and learning practice – work based learning at its most practical and hands on.  So I was scared on both fronts as teacher and observer and felt like I had a split personality and I begun to understand how it was for anyone sitting in and observing a lesson and the procedure you have to go through to observe a lesson. This was such a departure from me because before when I used to observe classes as part of my professional development as a teacher I usually had a template to work from in terms of what to look for in a class but it was usually quite informal and intuitive which is still the case. However for me the learning was in how to make judgments based on a criteria for gathering evidence of teaching and learner engagement and what was (in a later open discussion) hard to always quantify and evidence as examples of good practice – what makes a good teacher? In other words the intangible stuff and qualities of what makes an inspirational teacher, an encouraging teacher, a dynamic teacher, an engaging teacher? How do you evidence this?  As I find in adult education and I suppose in education in general is the acronym JEDI  (Judgement, Evidence,Development, Impact) I am guessing this term comes  from OFSTED where when an observer asks when observing a teacher/session leader what is the judgment made against the criteria being observed that shows the evidence and development (progression) that has an impact on the learner? So for me in my dance teacher role what judgment defines how well, effective  teacher I am with my learning methods that draw out the training and engagement of learners, what is the evidence (is it through the setting of differentiated tasks, is it the way I promote, encourage and embraces an inclusive ethos in the room, is it the way I situate my learners in the space) how is this progressed and developed and did my learners achieve something did it have an impact?  I know its not new to me as I think about it all the time but it was in the delivery of the session today that had a completely different context and perspective from which I had not experienced of looked at before.  It also made me reflect and think back to my earlier teachers particularly at school when I engaged in contemporary dance and how as teachers they inspired and motivated me to keep on going, encouraging, noticing, believing, coaching me to learn new steps, charge me with choreography they knew I could do and throw down the gauntlet technically to improve my learning and development physically.  I suppose for my module 3 research these are the qualities I hope to notice, hone and improve for myself and at the heart of the research observe and notice how I teach and make judgments  by constantly reflecting, reviewing and questioning improving the quality of my teaching and ultimately evolve good practice as I see it from my perspective.

Students taking the lead with me at the centre?

I do a lot of thinking on the bus which is the only place where thoughts musings, observations of people and life take place and unfold.  I often wonder what a passengers journey or story is as to why they take a particular bus towards their destination.  On this occasion I noticed about 4 students get on the bus in school uniform.  It was a mid-morning. I imagined that they were probably year 10 students.  After walking past me to get their seats in the back I noticed they were not all wearing the same uniform so assumed that for a couple of them they attended different schools and on this occasion got together for an event which was evident   in visitor lanyards they were wearing around their necks.

 From the body language they all knew each other.  They begun a conversation which pricked my ears.  In a nutshell they were talking about running for candidacy at their schools for relevant school bodies/societies/councils I guess. They were talking about the formalities of  articulating  their ideas, procedures for electing to be a candidate and time commitment to take on the responsibility and  seriousness  the job entailed   representing the views of their fellow students.   They were very articulate and it was refreshing hearing what they had to say.  I pondered the question: were they naturally gifted communicators and listeners? what was their motivation and interest in becoming active citizens and reps for their schools? did they like politics? were they coached and guided in public speaking and expressing their views? who were their teachers and particularly those teachers/tutors who, identifying their gift/talent to 'run for office'  might have suggested they embark on this path? were there incentives for doing this? will one or two of them go into politics one day and might I see them on telly? which political party I wonder?  One particular student stood out who spoke assertively and confidently about cultural diversity and how government policies that influence his life living in a culturally diverse society are in his opinion sometimes dictated by a middle class who has no understanding or relationship to his own experiences as a young person....it was profound!   He also talked  about his relationship with different types of students at schools and his preferences for older students particularly 6th formers (years 12s and 13s) because he felt that he could have a better debate about issues that really mattered and concerned young people.  He talked about perceptions people had of him by the way he spoke and looked which went against people's (well within his student community) a stereotype of a  young black male.  His comment was "I can't change the way I speak- people were entitled to their opinion but this is who I am" As for the younger years, he felt that they didn't engage or take things seriously and were in his opinion not clued up to things except when it mattered to them to get or have 'things'.   This point was interesting because it brought into mind my classes when I teach particularly for the younger year 7s and 8s who are given dance incentives which are very generous but says their teacher they have to attend my class after school - interesting as attendance has been low but there is an expectation that their teacher will continue to give them 'things' and further incentives.    Back to this young person.  He said that a lot of these younger groups asked him to change and fix them.  His response was that it was not his job to change them - he couldn't do it.  If a student wanted to change then they would have to do it themselves, he can help them but not change them. I was completely blown away!  What also intensified my listening was when he talked about his school and how lucky he was to be there because it was a top performing school with outstanding ofsted ratings, high exam pass rates  but he  identified a flaw in the system in which he felt the reason why students got competitively top academic grades were due to the fact that students were expected to learn the facts by rote in order  to pass the exams. Some students, he continued did not have the understanding of what to do with the facts or apply them.  Learning for him was about knowing what to do with the information/knowledge you have gained and not just learn the facts.  In other words learning is not just about acquiring facts but how to relate it to real life situations, how to make it relevant in their lives as a skill or something that can translate into other areas of their lives.  I was so blown away and to add to this light- headed experience I had to get off the next stop and go on  towards my destination.Why have I posted this? well it made me really think about me and my role as a teacher and how what I teach is not just a series of steps and sequences.  The learning is to observe and ask them to apply and find different methods and ways of expression that is fit for their purpose in this 21st century and making what I do  bespoke to their needs and embrace another way of learning - taking the facts and detail away from the mind and applying it to their dancing bodies. Also what/where will they go with this in their educational career?  Will this physical experience engender  a different pathway a different way of knowing?

From an ethnographic  method of research and also from the non-positivist stance in me  sharpens my focus even more when I am out in the field gathering data as to the knowledge and understanding of young people's dance experiences through movement.  Its not about the learning of the steps (even though it is very relevant in terms of sequencing knowledge and understanding) but its also about learning and understanding not always found books and on Youtube.  As the research gets under way it raises more and more questions.  I am beginning to wonder whether I will ever arrive at a conclusion but thats okay! The student as a dancing body sharing a lived experience - discuss????.

Making a Difference?

After teaching a class of which there were only 3 students in total out of 19 from the previous week I got into a  conversation with the dance teacher who is usually present during class at the school (a extra-curricular class) where I teach to reflect on the lack of presence of the students in class that day.   Needless to say I didn't feel great about it and got into an old pattern of thinking that their lack of presence was attributed to my class and its content and style or perhaps it might have been too hard. Or another old pattern was "well here we go again! as an after school club they are not required to attend. Pulling my bootstraps up I thought well... for those who stayed I will give them a really meaningful experience and pay attention to particular issues/themes they would like to focus on.  In the end the class was great and it gave me an opportunity to observe the two who stayed (the 3rd student was so unwell that it would not have benefited him to stay - he clearly needed to be in bed, but at least he turned up!)   I know that a bug was going around the school which not only affected a couple of the performing arts teachers but it seems to have affected the vast majority of students who should have turned up for class?  Surely 17 of them could not have been struck by this deadly bug! I wondered whether for the younger students mostly year 7 whether dance was that important to them and as it was only a club didn't take it too seriously despite promises that they would attend.  I also know that for some of the older students in my class year 13s there is a lot of pressure on them at the moment to commit to and finish assignments related to their performance arts course which meant staying behind after school for subjects closely related to their course.

The group I am teaching this term are ranging in ages from 11 to 19 years (years 7, a couple of year 8s, a handful of year 10s, years 12 and 13) - its quite broad and is reflected in the type of class I teach which  although I want to teach a more Horton based class have to differentiate massively and theme it in such as way through a piece I am setting that is more all encompassing, all inclusive  and not specifically stylistic in the Horton sense).

Reflecting back to the conversation with the dance teacher, she told me that for a cluster of the year 13 students she has charged them with attending open days at colleges, universities and conservatoires to look at what they would like to do and focus on in terms of further study at higher education level or an alternative possibly. Some of the year 13s were a little unsure what to study at university level and felt a little pressurised by other areas of the curriculum subjects they studied plus parental pressures.  Dance for some seemed to be of a lower priority that is until it all changed after attending some university open days. All agreed that they wanted to study dance at a either university or conservatoire level and it was interesting that each university had a different characteristic that favoured their choice of dance at a higher level.  The teacher reported that they had a light-bulb moment! They wanted to study dance. One thing they fed back which was a resounding yes, was that they needed to get back to my classes!  I was heartened and also humbled because in previous times last year in particularly and a little bit this term those very students who made that statement didn't come to my classes!  So the pressure is on for me to make a difference in their learning experiences and hope that I can draw out their potential to meet their own personal needs and aspirations and marry that to the type of university they wish to attend to further their dance training and career.  One girl in particular has always attended my classes and I was really impressed by her hunger, openness and physical development intelligently in her body and also by the way she moved.  She recently attended the summer school at Laban over the summer and boy did I see a change in her, in her approach to moving, her intelligence the way she modelled a way of moving that had nuances of what I had taught her throughout last year, but also physically her body was a blank canvas ready to take on   degree of intense dance training that will have a positive impact in her career.  It made me wonder despite the ups and downs of low attendance at my classes whether what I teach and in terms of a modern dance technique albeit it an adapted form make a difference and was  preparation tool for them to choose their dance pathway.  It made me think of my own paths and choices and how my training and more intensively when I trained in Horton how much of a tool and conduit it became for my dance career path and the types of dance companies and choreographers I worked with in the past.

I hope that for those students who after attending open days come back to my classes so that we can all walk on that journey in readiness for the next chapter of their dance careers.  I also hope that the 'bug' that afflicted so may has gone so that I get my other students back and I hope that I really can make a difference.  Incidentally I had one student who finished year 13 last year, accepted a place studying dance at a university but due to personal circumstances has deferred for a year.  She has asked permission from her dance teacher at school if she can attend after school classes and particularly mine!  Her aim is to do as many classes as possible in this gap  or deferred year to keep in shape and in readiness for when she starts her studies.  It was humbling how she talked about my classes and what it did for her previously.