Teachers opinions.

I recently put a post in a group of dance teachers on facebook which all teach GCSE dance.
I decdided to just ask their opinions on GCSE dance compared to academic subjects.

I am now blogging everyones opinions but have covered the names of these people. I didn't intend to use this in my inquiry at first, I decided to do this to see if anyone's opinions inspired me in my inquiry. After the amount of comments I received I had to share this with my other peers. 1. It might help in your inquiry but 2. It may be something you would like to try out.

Sorry for the long amount of pictures of comments to read. I am blogging it so I can refer back to this in my inquiry and show the impact GCSE dance is causing and the concerns it is raising to the teachers teaching this.

Module 3 skype call.

I have come away from last nights skype call feeling reliecved. After reading module 3 handbook I went into panic mode and just couldn't piece together where to start! After the skype call I felt more relaxed and now know to trust myself, there is no right or wrong!

Questionares, interviews and talks-
This became my biggest fear as I explained in the group, everytime I think of a question I am not sure I will get the right answer.
This is where Adesola said: You are not looking for an answer. It is how you analyse your data and the questions that leads you to.
The other girls in the group said this was a worry of theirs too but now we now, if it feels right it will be right.

Literature-
 My question in this section was: Am I ok with using most of my literature from articles, blogs, ETC?
I found out most peoples literature is the same, it is points of views we are reading from other people. It is also where I seem to be finding the percentages from to see the rise/fall of dance (which is helpful for my inquiry). Lauren again mentioned that she found her book really helpful, it also provided her with the history and some facts she never knew. So, that is my next job. FIND A BOOK.

Overall, I came away with a clear mind and today I feel refreshed and ready to move forward in my inquiry. Again Lauren (thankyou) she said: I find it like a jigsaw, theres lots of pieces and its about learning to piece them together.

Dance education.

"Dance remains one of the most popular art forms

amongst young people. Surveys show that dance is

the second most popular physical activity following

football, and is a very attractive cultural form through

which young people of all learning abilities can express

their own identities and cultures. Dance enables

young people to gain artistic skills and discipline, as

well as developing their ability in physical interaction,

team working, problem solving, observing, evaluating,

verbal and non-verbal communication. Through dance

young people collaborate with other art forms, and

make connections with design in space, musicality

and creativity. Dance can improve self-esteem and

confidence; it can widen aspiration and help tackle

obesity and other health issues."

Above is a section of an article that I have taken from Dance education, a guide for governors and trustees.
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/ACE172%20Dance%20Education%20for%20Governors%20and%20Trustees%20-%20WEB_0.pdf

I think that for anyone taking the teacher route in dance may want to read this. The article focus's on explaining what dance can do for a student which is shown clearly in the section above. If dance can make such an impact on a student then I still cannot understand why it is a compulsary subject.

Instead of me going into futher detail on the article I would like to know my peers thoughts?
Do you agree dance should be compulsary or do you think differently?
Also, does anyone think dance isn't getting the value it deserves? aferall, it isn't even an option in some schools!

Module 3

I have just got round to finishing reading the handbook and making my first set of notes. I don't know if because it is linked very closely to our work in module 2 but I feel I understand this handbook more than any of the others.

I feel very ready for this last term and determined to get my head down and complete module 3 before moving on to one more year of education. PGDE. I have just received a place for Liverpool John Moor university to complete my PGDE and my QTS (YAY).

My biggest concern is how quickly time is going. Juggling this course, my skills test revision, my job, my volunteering and my teaching sometimes can be overwhelming. However, I am very confident than in a years time all this work and time spent in education will be worth it.

Im ready to complete the last bit of the journey, (probably the most stressful) but I am sure when we get to the finish line we will all be relieved.
Good luck to my fellow M3 students.
Lets keep going.

GCSE dance from a GCSE students point of view.

Reading up on this article for an interview I have in a few days and I have come across this article which seems to have so much in common with my proposal.

'A students view to why art subjects matter'
https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/jan/31/career-arts-gcse-dance-stop-the-stem-subject-snobbery

This article made me smile so much and remember my time in school whilst taking GCSE dance. It is mad how much I can relate and understand how it feels when yet another person says 'dance is easy' or 'why are you not taking a proper subject?'.
I have said it before and I will say it again. A GCSE is a GCSE no matter on the subject.

It is great to see a students point of view, and her peers point of view and parents all in one article.
It is clear that GCSE dance is as important to this student as any other GCSE she is taking.

The student says:
'To study arts subjects, you have to take risks, push yourself emotionally, expressively and creatively in every lesson, you have to persevere and be interpretive, passionate and collaborative. I’ve worked harder in these subjects than I’ve ever worked in my life'.

No matter what the subject be, if a student can be this passionate and work so hard towards a GCSE then nobody else should care what GCSE she will be receiving. Dance teaches people so much more than just how to move.

 I can't wait to see what type of feedback I receive off my own students once they have had interviews with me.

Reflecting on Module 2 whilst thinking about my Critical reflection

Slightly hoping I am not the only one who has found Module 2 a whirl wind?!

So after days, weeks and even months of stressing and thinking of how completely lost I am, I am starting to hope things are piecing together. It's come to the time where I am about to write my critical reflection on the inquiry proposal. And I have that many views and feelings I have no idea where to begin. I went from having 5 different possible lines of inquirys to having to take a chance, choose one and go with it. Thankfully it's turned out I am so interested in my inquiry so far.

Reflecting now as I blog I can only say, I am relieved things have come together. But I can also say I still think I have a long way to go. I feel like as a person and in my career I am sometimes learning more and moving forward a lot more than what my work is, but without doing well in my work I won't be able to achieve that 'dream job'.

Does anybody else feel this module has been a massive whirl wind?
How different do you think it has been to module 1?

Hope everyone has a lovely christmas and looks back on how much they have achieved this year!!

Award specialism title

Title: BA (hons) in professional practice in performing arts.

I have decided to choose performing arts, becuase I feel the main figures and evidence in my inquiry is from performing arts not just dance.

Rationale:

In 2015 I graduated from KS Dance LTD with a Level 6 Diploma in Professional Dance with a commendation from the examiner. I then went into the dance industry auditioning and working whilst also teaching in a private run dance school. At the end of 2016 I began to realise my main passion was teaching and I wanted to pursue this further. After having a think about where my main sector of teaching would be I decided on the secondary sector because that is where I first found my passion for dancing, I had lots of support from my teachers and I want to now give back what I received during my secondary school time. I am currently volunteering in my own high school Droylsden Academy, whilst having my own Youth Dance Company and working a part-time job and completing my BA (hons) in Professional Practice. Because of my passion in the secondary sector I have decided to look at ‘How GCSE doesn’t get the equal treatment to academic subjects and why this happened.’ The reason behind this is because I believe a GCSE is a GCSE no matter what subject it is achieved in. I wanted to discover people’s opinions and the Arts Councils views on GCSE dance and the importance of it. Although my main area of research is dance some of the figures from my research have been summarised over the whole of the performing arts subjects which has led me to the chosen title of performing arts in my awards specialism title. 

Does anybody think I should change to dance? Or do you think I have a clear reason behind why I went for performing arts?