Ego

I got asked today what my biggest issue with dance education was. It’s for a documentary - it’s going to be a good one. (I can’t quite remember my exact words, I know they were very succinct and profound - but I had my 6 month old with me who’s trying to stand, the room was 100degrees and I have the memory of fish at the moment, even with my Lions mane)

But what I do remember is…

My first answer was ego.

The best teachers are not those who make themselves the centre of attention. They’re the ones who make their students believe in what they are capable of.

That’s the difference between teaching with ego and teaching with purpose.

My goal is that my students turn out better dancers and teachers than I ever was. I want them to outgrow me, I want them to challenge me - have you met Rory? And seen him teach? Simply, my job is done. Their success (and let college teachers read this and check themselves before they stand in-front of a class of people with big dreams and crush them) is not a threat to my existence it’s evidence of great teaching. Our identity as teachers should not rely on always being right, or the most shared, or the most admired. If we let our ego get the better of us when we are teaching then I don’t believe we are truly educating, instead we are performing.

My second answer was in order to be a great teacher you have to also be a student. If you are always giving, you get to a point where you are trying to fill other cups from your own empty one. A growth mindset is not a weakness. It is a sign of intelligence, humility, and a commitment to excellence.

Keep learning. Your brain was made for it.

To better dance education we can’t stand by the wayside, let things go in fear of being moved to the back, or not getting a solo, we shouldn’t applaud those that have track records of breaking down self esteem. But this won’t just happen over night, the algorithm isn’t just going to pop the good stuff onto our feeds. However, conversations are the most poweful tool we have as humans in an era being led by robots. Start one. Not an argument (and if you’ve read all 30/30 of my posts you’ll know whilst I might have click baited the titles, I’ve kept neutral) SimplyC start a convesarion.