In August 2014, Valerie Gutwirth and I published a pocket guide/journal of 55 teaching tips we wished we had learned before embarking on a career teaching children and teens. This book is not teaching advice about content or lesson planning; it is about those essential details – the brass tacks (teaching supplies, paychecks, shoes for teaching, observing at the school before you begin, protocol for days when you are sick…). Whether you are teaching one class a week or twenty, these tips are practical and easily applicable right away in a wide variety of teaching settings including in a studio, preschool, or K-12 school. Since many dance teachers teach a variety of ages within a given week, Dance Education Essentials touches upon ideas that are universal to all dance classes as well as some specific to preschoolers, elementary age students, and teenage students.

For the next few weeks, we will share some of these teaching tips. If you would like to purchase your own copy of the pocket guide/journal ($7.99), click here.

We welcome college professors to print out these teaching tips and use within a college course on dance education.

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TOPIC: MUSIC

Tip #5: WiFi

Is there WiFi in your studio to show videos or stream music? What guidelines does your school/district have for what you can show? Streaming can also “slow down” the internet connection at a school, so ask about streaming if you are wanting to do it frequently for videos and music.

Tip #6: Music in Teenage Level Classes

Middle school and above – create an opportunity for the students to offer music suggestions for your classes. Playing some pop music can create “buy in” with teenagers. Again, use school and district guidelines about appropriate use. Looking at the iTunes top 10 list can also provide ideas.

Tip #7: Music for the Commute

Use your commute time to listen to music you are considering  using in classes.

Tip #31: Common Out of Pocket Expenses

On average, consider spending $300 a year on music and on books. Many schools have budgets for individual teacher expenditures, sometimes through the PTA or through a school foundation. Ask about this and keep your receipts for reimbursement or for tax deductions.

Tip #32: Save Your Receipts

Whether you get reimbursed, declare expenses for tax purposes, or just want to keep track of what you are putting out, get organized and designate a folder or drawer for work-related receipts. Print out receipts from online purchases as well – from amazon.com and iTunes – or make a folder in your email system for these receipts.  

Tip #52: Something to Play Music With or Out Of: A Drum, Boombox, or Speaker

Your site may have something or have funds to purchase something for you. Always check borrowed equipment before you use it with your students. This is a KEY detail to figure out prior to your first day teaching. (Also see #5 about WiFi.)

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About the authors:

Valerie Gutwirth began teaching dance to children in high school. She graduated from Connecticut College in 1984, and received an MS in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Bank Street College in 1992. She has taught movement, dance, and fitness classes to people from birth to age 80+, from Mommy and Me classes in church basements to Juilliard’s dance department, and everything in between. Valerie’s dance and performance experience includes companies in New York (1984-1991) and the San Francisco Bay Area (1995-present), most recently with Paufve Dance and the dance/singing/ body percussion group MoToR. Valerie has been thrilled, inspired, and challenged as a dance teacher in the Berkeley, California public schools for the past 17 years.

Jill Homan Randall graduated from the University of Utah in 1997 and has been teaching dance, or directing arts education programs, ever since. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Jill has taught in a wide variety of settings including preschools, community centers, dance studios, and public and independent K-12 schools. From 2004-2006 Jill was the Director of Education for the Lincoln Center Institute affiliate in Berkeley, California, and from 2006-2010 Jill directed Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. Jill currently teaches dance full-time at The Hamlin School in San Francisco. She has performed extensively with Nina Haft & Company and Paufve Dance. As a dance writer, Jill maintains three blogs on children’s books on dance, careers in modern dance, and the intersection of dance and technology. In 2013, Jill received the Herbst Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

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