Learning through experience

 I have had a rather challenging week in a work sense. Trying to get my stamina up following the flu in time to perform Odette next week. I had to be patient with my body and yet at the same time push it to a certain extent. This must surely be one of the biggest challenges a dancer will face - learning when to push and wen to hold back. This is just one example of how I have been learning through experience.

Through my early training I remember being told that it was best to work through illness and that you had to push as hard as you could every day. Over the years after experiencing quite a number of health issues I have realised that you must work in alignment with your body. Because we are only gifted one. I try now to see my body as a friend. I want the best for it because I know that a healthy body will dance much better than an unhealthy one.

Alongside this I have returned to some teaching work and had a couple of challenging classes due to very poor behaviour in the class. I have realised that I find it very difficult not to take things personally. As educators we are always putting ourselves on the line to some extent. Trying to help others to learn. Yet those within our class have to want to learn if any learning it to take place. I remember a teacher I had when training who would say 'no one can make you learn. I can only give, it is up to you what you do with what I give you'. This stayed with me, and I really feel she was right. Yet now I am teaching myself I seem to feel overly responsible. I feel that if children are behaving badly, it must be my fault. Perhaps because I have a desire to learn and become better at what I do. But are there times when it really is the responsibility of the learner/student? Or is it always purely the educator's responsibility? From the current research I am doing on reflective practice and learning I can see that the divide is far less clean cut. I learn every time I teach and perform and always strive to do better. Therefore, is it wrong to expect that my students have the same work ethic? I believe I will have this conversation with them in the next lesson.

 I am considering the fact that perhaps I am naturally more of a reflective learner and I may be unconsciously expecting others to be similar and maybe my students want me to be more of a dictator. I am definitely not a dictator type of teacher and being home educated as a child I learned that unless I applied myself, I was not going to learn what I needed to learn and be ready for my exams etc. I took responsibility from a young age. But am I therefore wrongly expecting my students to do the same? As Bolton says 'The critically reflective practitioner is responsible for all their reflective work and the outcomes. Some come to professional learning assuming that tutors take responsibility. The slowness of reflective learning frustrates them, with it's constant reflexive involvement.' (2014, p.32)

As I continue to explore different learning theories and place myself within some of these frameworks, I thought I would share some of these insights as they emerge. I am interested to know other people's thoughts.

References

Bolton, G. (2014) Reflective Practice. Sage Publications Ltd: London 

Schon, A (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. Basic Books: United States of America