I walk into my class on a normal thursday afternoon and begin to take roll! When I take roll, I always have the girls answer a question of the week, this particular question of the week was, “What is your favorite subject in school?” As I read through the girls name on the sheet, as ask the them question of the week, they all look at my like a deer in the headlights. I begin to become irritated that none to them would answer my question, when sweet little Paige raises her hand and say “ Miss. Megan we don’t know what a subject in school means!” All the little girls start giggling and I join in with them, how couldn’t I, it was adorable. These girls making going to work a blast, because you never know what’s going to happen, and there it’s at least one comical moment each class.

 

God has blessed me with a job, that I love because I am teaching my favorite thing, dance, to girls who also love dance.Y’all it’s a perfect fit! I get to teacher young girls every week to dance, which is a complete dream. If you missed my first post, you can read it here( make here an active link) . I tell my life after high school and how I continued to dance, however I have been dancing since I was four! There is no feeling, for me at least that compares to taking a dance class, or preforming on a stage with bright lights hitting your face causing your makeup to slowly drip off. It is an adrenaline rush and a feeling I know I will get used to. I still dance often and have a performance coming up at the beginning of November! Yay! While I love performing, I have learned over the past year I love teaching and choreographing equally as much. It is so rewarding because it is more than teaching 5&6 year olds executing piles perfectly, it’s about instilling discipline,confidence and self esteem in each dancer!

 

On the first day of class, in each of the classes I teach, we go over classroom roles. For my 5&6 year olds, there things like, “ There is no running in the classroom, please raise your hand if you have a question and please do not talk while the teacher is talking”. Now for my advantaged hip hop students, there are things like “please be in class on time, let me know if you will be missing class in advance and please be respectful to me and your classmates.” Obviously, each age group needs extremely different rules, but placing those rules on the first day of class is important to teach them discipline. My 5&6 year olds, 8 weeks into the school year follow these rules to a T. When there are occasional slip ups, I will say something like, “ Do we talk when the teacher is talking?” and the will respond with something like “ No, I am sorry Miss. Megan”. It is incredible to see at such a young age how much they care and want to learn. I have made a point to tell each class that these rules are not to be mean, but to keep us safe and help us learn as much as possible for our recital dances! Whether that be kindergartners or middle schoolers, both groups understand the rules and follow them because they want to learn as much as possible! This is why I love going to work, each girl wants to be there and wants to do whatever it takes to have the greatest recital dance at the end of the year! They are also amazing at hold each other accountable, if one person is breaking a rule, they whisper to them and remind them! It is  amazing to see these girls dedication at such a young age!

 

Once each class has the class rules memorized the class runs much more smoothly because of the level of discipline, at this point is when confidence aspect begins to set in! Once the girls have a feel for how my classes run, they know what to expect and in return they begin to relax. They know me, and they know I want them to do well but that I am always going to give them a challenge. A few weeks back, one of my little ballerinas did her ballet sways extremely well! I pointed her out to the class and had her demonstrate and y’all you would have thought it was Christmas! She lit up like a christmas tree, these are the moment I live for. They keep me going to see how cable she felt. After class she went and told her mom I said she did well and could not have been more proud. Remember when I said this job was rewarding, this is what I’m talking about! Now, each week in class when I ask someone if they would like to demonstrate a step to the class, everyone’s hands shoot up! They all want to show the rest of the class what they can do and what they remember and y’all this is what teaching is all about!

 

It does stop here though, once they have gained discipline in the classroom, and are confident with their abilities, it’s recital time! Rectial is a huge deal, the whole class has a the same costume and they worked for months to learn a dance to perform. All the hard work in class pays off! All the steps they worked so hard to learn, they now get to show their friends and families what they can do!! They get on stage, with the incredibly  bright lights and huge smiles and perform their dance like pros! After the performance there’s a moment, a moment where they realize they can do anything they put their heart in and their mind to! This moment, is where they build self-esteem, the esteem to know they did great and they are good at something that’s difficult! This is feeling that keeps these dancers wanting to come back year after year and continue to grow. For these sweet girls, the moment after performing is a defining one, one that they will take them for the rest of their lives.

 

Not every girl will dance forever, or even all the way through high school but dance did teach them something. It taught them anything is possible with hard work, and they can do it, because they are cable!! I am privileged to teach these girls and watch as the build discipline, confidence and self esteem. I am truly honored. I play such a small part in these girls life, but for an hour a week I see each group and watch them grow leaps and bounds over the year. It’s truly incredible and I thank God every day for allowing me to be a dance instructor. With all of this said, this is why I love my job and why I wake up everyday stoked to go to work!! Why do you love your job? I would love to hear more about your line of work!

 

Love,

Megan