4d

At the beginning of this module I researched many different ideas to get me started, I found myself researching 'What makes a good teacher?' I then found an article published by The Telegraph (15 January 2015) by Barnaby Lenon apart from the fact this article was very broad, as it was aimed at all teachers of any subject I found it interesting. Although this was one of the first articles I came across I found it most useful, he came to the conclusion there are 4 main points of being a good teacher;

1. Being passionate about their subject! This came down to if you love your subject you will have lots of knowledge about it, if you personally find your subject interesting so will your students. I think this is one thing us dancers are good at, I find dance is like marmite, you either really love it or you hate it. Even if you go out on a Saturday night you have the people who never leave the dance floor (like me) or the people that stand around talking all night. (30% subject knowledge)

2. Having the right personality, to be a good teacher you need to have control over your students, this all comes down to discipline (discipline= achievement.) As a teacher you need to  be respected and even slightly feared sometimes. You need to be well organised and have the ability to manage stress well, also making time for students who need extra time or help. (30% personality)

3. I also found this article interesting as it said not all good teachers are qualified which I found surprising if I'm completely honest. But later on in the article it did say all teachers need some training which I agree with, having experience with classroom or studio skills. You need to be able to teach a class with pace and interest and making sure your students understand tricky concepts, breaking something down so they comprehend. (10% classroom skills)

4. My last bullet point is having high expectations for your students, you need to push them and make them aim for higher goals. The teacher sets the scene in the classroom or studio, if you are determined so will your students hopefully. After all a 'pupils effort + teaching quality = how well a child acheives!' (30% expectations) 

After reading this article I completely agree with all the facts, you need passion, the correct personality, classroom skills and high expectations. I think I knew this before reading this article but it actually made me put it in perspective. If a teacher is relaxed then so will his or hers students, I now teach all my classes as if they have an exam or a performance next week, and it does set the scene for the whole class, I now get so much more done within 45 minutes. I also now spend more time before class on how to break down a certain step so they will understand. For example I still need to find a better way of describing how to do a contraction but it is such a hard concept for children to understand.

I read this article at the beginning of Module 2 and wrote down a few bullet points in my journal, I recently read back in my journal and remembered this article and re read it but this time I connected it to my idea for my personal inquiry. I think it is hard to connect having dance experience or a professional career in dance before teaching to such a broad article like this one, but on the other hand thinking about other teachers if you are good at maths you become an accountant, banker or maths teacher, but being a good accountant does not make you a good math teacher I guess? You still need to have good classroom skills and the right personality which therefore goes for dancing as well. Not all professional dancers would make good teachers necessary. Also another way to look at it is a professional dancer is normally use to being told what to do, where to stand, what steps, and being a teacher you are much more in control, you have to tell your students what to do which is completely different to being a professional dancer. You need to take control of your students and make them respect you and listen to you.

I really enjoyed this article as it is very broad so I could bring my own interpretation into it as well, it also connects all teaching together, apart from the subject it focuses on the main elements you need to be a good teacher. I think it is correct in saying as long as you have passion for your subject and you also have good classroom skills, high expectations and the right personality you will be a good teacher and push your students to their highest ability.