When I take my ‘little ones’ for ballet I always like to leave time for a bit of free expression – that glorious time where the teacher lets go of the ‘let’s do this’ and ‘shall we all practice this’ and everything that is within the child can be set free. It’s not just for the benefit of my students either, it gives me that moment of perspective where I can sit back and enjoy watching- no thinking about how can I get stretched feet or turned out knees or higher jumps. I can see fairies and princesses, dinosaurs and giraffes, happy smiles and scary frowns, little tip toes and giant steps. And it makes me smile.
But it also gets me thinking...
This is motivation in its purest form. There is no reward, no punishment, no restrictions, examinations or tests. Just dance for the pleasure of doing and being and feeling and expressing. There is no critique afterwards and no ‘why don’t you try it this way next time.’ Just an ‘I really enjoyed watching you all dance.’
Isn’t this the key to keeping motivation as the student gets older?
Giving time to appreciate that the student has just given you in and of their self and that to accept this gift with a disparaging remark or a judgement on its’ imperfections is nothing short of a metaphorical slap in the face. Do it once and it may not be too damaging but done regularly and I defy anyone not to feel discouraged.
As teachers we all want to push our students to achieve their maximum potential and, unless we are very lucky, have restrictions on the time we spend with them. However, as much as we want to correct, stretch and improve isn’t it important also to appreciate? This might take up more time in class but surely this is time well spent in keeping students motivated. Perhaps it's just a question of finding the right words...
(This blog was inspired by a Huffington Post article by Kenneth Barish, PhD: ‘He’s Not Motivated’ And of course, my
students!)
But it also gets me thinking...
This is motivation in its purest form. There is no reward, no punishment, no restrictions, examinations or tests. Just dance for the pleasure of doing and being and feeling and expressing. There is no critique afterwards and no ‘why don’t you try it this way next time.’ Just an ‘I really enjoyed watching you all dance.’
Isn’t this the key to keeping motivation as the student gets older?
Giving time to appreciate that the student has just given you in and of their self and that to accept this gift with a disparaging remark or a judgement on its’ imperfections is nothing short of a metaphorical slap in the face. Do it once and it may not be too damaging but done regularly and I defy anyone not to feel discouraged.
As teachers we all want to push our students to achieve their maximum potential and, unless we are very lucky, have restrictions on the time we spend with them. However, as much as we want to correct, stretch and improve isn’t it important also to appreciate? This might take up more time in class but surely this is time well spent in keeping students motivated. Perhaps it's just a question of finding the right words...
(This blog was inspired by a Huffington Post article by Kenneth Barish, PhD: ‘He’s Not Motivated’ And of course, my
students!)