Task 5c

In a professional context, many things have to be taken into consideration with regard to ethics, especially in a school environment, working with minors.

In a performing arts situation, such as a dance class, you have to be especially careful with how you treat students; many dance teachers prefer a hands-on approach to teaching, physically putting students’ arms/legs in the correct position, for example. In an upper school environment, you have to be especially tactful with your teaching and critiquing – to students who aren’t used to the sometimes harsh treatment in a dance class, you have to try especially hard with the wording of corrections, so that they don’t feel singled out or victimised in any way. I found that, being a casual member of staff, I could build a relationship on a less formal level with my students, which made teaching much easier, i.e. I could turn corrections into a light hearted situation, since it wasn’t my role to discipline them. I then found that I had more of an impact when I did have to be ‘strict’ with the students, because I was so laid back for most of the time.

In a vocational school, this approach would not really work, and I know from experience that I worked better when receiving the wrath of one of the stricter teachers, and similarly, compliments from them meant much more to me. Although the ethical legislation of each school is pretty standard, the type of student you are dealing with makes the margins slightly less rigid. In a company situation, for example, I have known choreographers to humiliate dancers in front of the entire company using the ‘tough love’ approach. This is simply not suitable in a state school environment.

Safeguarding procedure also became much more apparent at my place of work. At college, taboo subjects such as weight, eating disorders and financial situations were openly talked about, and the students had an understanding of each other that made this possible. In a state school, however, confidentiality legislation is much stricter, and you also feel much more responsibility to inform the appropriate superior, should students share information with you. This happened to me on a couple of occasions, and I had to refer to the safeguarding procedure guidelines for advice, as I never was exposed to this side of things at my own school.

With subjects such as nutrition, fitness and injury, I managed to develop a questioning technique with the students which built up a trusting relationship with them, which allows them to share more honest information with me – this was hugely beneficial during my inquiry process this module. I hope that these methods work in the other organisations I am hoping to work alongside, during the next module.