Calasanz.MelissaAdylia 1
LEAP 198 Senior Project
Student Supervisor of the Glendale Community College
DANCE 107
Survey of Dance Teaching Methodology Class
Weekly Reflection Paper No. 8
There is no doubt that having a few days
off from taking care of obligations related to interning as the DANCE 107
Student Supervisor has been welcome. However, being granted some time off does
not mean I was enjoying margaritas on the Mexican Riviera. The enforced exile
from hard work, thanks to Dora, came at the best time. I believe she told me to
“take a break…you’ve done more than enough…” She knew I was heading out to
Santa Rosa Island for some hard-core, physically intense, volunteer work with
the Channel Island Restoration Group. Dora knows I have been getting very
restless without exercise, sitting for long periods of time in all my classes,
and at home sitting in front of the computer, working on projects and writing
papers. She also knows that we share a similar mindset: while in movement, we
have some of the best mental clarity.
I couldn’t wait to head off to the
island to get off the beaten path to clear my mind in beautiful, unforgiving, territory.
I knew I would come back recharged and ready to tackle what needed to be tamed
in preparation for the students’ final exams.
Though I had minimal down-time on the
island, I had enough down-time to afford myself the luxury to head out alone
before dawn for a three mile scamper along the coast to watch the sunrise from
the pier. The solitude allowed moments for me to reflect on how far I’ve come
in over twenty years. Though I’ve come
so far from when I was a 19 year old student at Glendale Community College,
struggling to survive on my own, with no family, no car, an apartment of my
own, and a 40 hour work week that was driving me nuts, I am back in the same
place. The reflection gave me the opportunity to realize that I was once just
like the young struggling dance students I was assisting Dora with, in the
DANCE 107 class.
Standing on the pier on my last morning
on the island, I couldn’t help but empathize with the students. I remembered
what it was like when I had been a young college student-confused, unsupported,
without direction, but with a desire to dance.
The memories reminded me of last week and how Dora and I became aware
that several of the dance majors are experiencing some intense personal and
familial struggles. Thinking of their struggles reminded me of how the nineteen
year old “me” navigated the turbulent waters of tying to balance school,
finances, and my love for dancing. I know I managed because of how I had been
impacted by some wonderful dance educators: Terry Markwell, Lynn McMurrey, Dora, Claude Thompson, Cameron
English, Kim Blank, etc.
Though I
remember those teachers fondly, it is not because they were easy on me. In
fact, they never lowered their standards to accommodate any of my “issues.”
They didn’t “accommodate my issues” because they didn’t know about my issues.
It is only now that I am back a Glendale that Lynn and Dora now know that at
nineteen, my Grandma who had raised me had had a stroke, and mother was dying
as I was failing my academic classes, yet coming to any dance class I get to.
Stepping away
from the students while I was gone helped rejuvenate my desire to help mentor
the ones who work hard and demonstrate a passion for dance. I was also able to
whip up the documents “DANCE 107 4 Week Workshop Written Assignment” and “DANCE 107 Getting to Moodle,” so quickly
because I pretty much mapped them out in my head while I was collecting acorns
from Santa Rosa Scrub Oaks. I will continue to do my best to guide the others
who lack a decent work ethic and appear to be a bit lost, and perhaps, twenty
years from now, they will remember the advice Dora and I gave this semester.
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