When we have staff meetings we will often go through things that have happened during the week that need addressing and quite often, something will come up that has come from a parent who is concerned that their child had a different teacher this week compared to last week. And around the board meeting, the staff all go “That’s so great that she got to have both Miss Jessie & Miss Lauran” who both are equally awesome and who both have different strengths in different areas.
However, there is a misconception out there amongst the community that having different
teachers is something that is not beneficial. What I want you to know, as part of this why series, is how valuable it is and how lucky your dancer is to be exposed to lots of different teachers who all have a wealth of knowledge in all different areas of dance, creating well rounded dancers.
Coming to PMPA, that should be one of your top of the pyramid draw cards, that we have so many experienced teachers that are all nurturing and loving and have lots of experience in different areas so your dancer will be exposed to as many areas of dance as possible. And I know routine is really important for children, and that’s why we keep the curriculum the same and that’s why all of our staff are trained in the curriculum that we provide at PMPA. Even though you get Miss Jessie in a combo class and Miss Lauran in a combo class, the work that they are teaching is the same. Both teachers will have individual ways of approaching the students and teaching the work and because all of our dancers have so many different learning styles and because we do lots of professional development as staff to address each of these different learning styles, you will find that by having a different teacher, your child really gets the opportunity to get in front of someone else to learn something new.
If your dancer has the one teacher throughout the entire year, you may find that the learning and the way things are taught are the same throughout and we want for that learning to be shared and different and you want your child to be exposed to as many different teachings styles as possible. This is especially valuable in private lessons. Miss Ange may choreograph your dancer’s solo rou-tine, however Miss Janelle may see the solo and pick up something that Miss Ange didn’t see & vice versa.
My advise to you, is that when your child gets the opportunity to learn from another teacher, em-brace it & encourage your child to soak up everything they can from each teacher because not every school has the luxury of a wide variety of teachers.
Here’s a tip! If you child is anxious about having a different teacher, show your child a picture of the new teacher on the wall of the PMPA hallway and explain to your child that the work & steps that they will be doing in class will be the same curriculum as they usually do with their usual teacher. Then before the lesson, introduce your child to the new teacher and let the teacher hold their hand & welcome them into the studio.
