Have you ever dreamed of teaching your own classes, of sharing the knowledge that you've developed over the years as you help others to reach their goals of becoming better dancers? Teaching is a thrilling and rewarding pursuit, even under challenging conditions.
But those challenges are real, and as a teacher, you'll have to deal with them. It's part of the package. Here's a sample of some of the issues that you'll be facing.
Gender Imbalance
When people come to a dance class, they expect to be dancing. When the leader to follower ratio is significantly imbalanced, the students are disappointed. They might not express that disappointment, but they're feeling it.
Well, guess what - the teacher is disappointed, too. They spent time planning what to teach in that class. They tailor the plan to the students that they expected to show up. If the gender balance is way off, their plan is useless, and they time that they put into it is wasted.
Further, they now have to find something to occupy a roomful of disappointed students that will make the hour worth their while.
Let's say that five followers show up, but there are no leaders. The quick solution is to turn the class into a mini-workshop on follower's technique. It might be tempting to work on boleos - just keep in mind that repeating boleos is tiring, and it doesn't accomplish much if there's no one to lead them in the context of an improvised tango.
Other possibilities include also adornments (followers love these), walking and posture (again, not to the point of becoming painful), and everybody's least favorite topic, musical interpretation.
So, you begin you follower's workshop, and everything is going smoothly until a couple walks in fifteen minutes late. What are you going to do now? Are you going to ask the leader of the couple to dance with six followers (leaving his partner feeling slighted)? Are you going to ask the two of them to join in your followers' workshop and hope that they leader understands that it's in his best interest to learn this stuff?
Rest assured, whatever choice you make, someone is going to complain.
Bickering
Let's say that you have a perfect leader/follower balance one day, but it's a small class. One married couple prefers not to change partners. The remaining couples rotate, but they dance with the same partners over and over again, because there aren't that many students.
At one point during the class, Follower Number 3 whispers in your ear. "Please don't make me dance with Leader Number 2 any more. He's obnoxious. I can't stand his attitude!"
After class, Leader Number 2 approaches you. "Please don't make me dance with Follower Number 3 next time. She's horrible!"
Good luck working that situation out to everyone's satisfaction!
Playing Catch Up
The demands of life are more important than the demands of a dance class. I support anyone who has to work late sometimes or go on business trips or take care of their kids.
Sometimes, people miss a week or two of classes, or more. When they return to class, they'll want to catch up with the group. Unfortunately, the nature of classes is progressive.
Students who come to class every week might become impatient if you repeat a topics that they have already worked on. This is unfortunate, because repetition is critical to the development and understanding of skills, but it's also human nature.
You can take the student who is catching up off to the side for a few minutes, but that diverts attention away from the rest of the class. The Absolute Golden Rule Of Teaching Anything is that students do NOT like it when you're not paying attention to them. Write that one down.
You have a couple of options. Ask the student to do the best that they can, and offer to help them after class (or in a private lesson). Ask some of the students who are doing well to demonstrate the technique as you explain it. They will feel valued, and they won't mind that you're spending time with someone who needs extra help. Or you might be able to jump to a topic that's new for everyone (or with which everyone is struggling).
Mixed-Level Classes
Oh, the humanity! My worst moments as a teacher came when I was asked to teach two levels simultaneously. For example, a beginner couple shows up on the night of the Intermediate class. Or they say that they can't come on the Beginners' night. You don't want to turn them away, so you try to teach two levels simultaneously.
Here's a subtle hint: It's a BAD idea!
The experienced students will hate it because you're not paying enough attention to them. (Remember the Absolute Golden Rule or Teaching Anything.)
The less experience students will feel overwhelmed. They'll want to try the things that the more experienced students are doing and, worse, they'll perceive the simpler exercises that you are asking them to do to be less important. It's not true. What you are teaching them is critically important. But they won't see it that way.
Prepare yourself, my friends with teaching aspirations. The mixed-level class is a no-win situation.
¡Buena suerte amigos, y muchas gracias!
Daniel
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