Issues with my teacher?

[iBellyDance]

So sorry, Starling, you had so negative experience! But I am glad you are planning to keep dancing. "Forgetting" to bring choreography notes and dismissing your questions are unacceptable. I would feel terrible as a student of a such disrespectful instructor!

Yes, there are o-line lessons and very good DVDs for beginners. I drill a lot at home with DVDs, my teacher emails us choreography notes and music. She also lets us to videotape her, so we can practice at home. I had a few bumpy moments with my teacher (more of a misunderstanding) in two years, but we talked and cleared it.

 

[Kashmir]

"Forgetting" to bring choreography notes and dismissing your questions are unacceptable. I would feel terrible as a student of a such disrespectful instructor!

I don't think students should expect a written choreography. I do provide one for my beginner students - but only after I believe they have it in their body and in quite sparse detail - more a nudge than something you could learn it from scratch. This is because I believe written notes is not the way to learn dance. You have to experience it.

And I don't think I've ever been to a workshop where choreography notes have been handed out - and I've been to about a thousand hours of those with a range of teachers.

As for the questions - without going back to the start of the thread, I believe she wanted DVD recomendations. Was she willing to pay for the research time involved? Teachers don't use beginner DVDs and there is no reason why they should be familiar with them - unless there is something exceptional that has been flagged. You pay the teacher to appear in front of you for a certain time appropriately prepared for the course and specific lesson. Many teachers will give more of themselves but that isn't what you are paying for.

 

[Yame]

The egos, rudeness, defensiveness and petty dramas that others of you seem to enjoy from the safety of your keyboards is mystifying. Do you talk to people like that in real life?

Oh, the irony...

 

[Jane]

The egos, rudeness, defensiveness and petty dramas that others of you seem to enjoy from the safety of your keyboards is mystifying. Do you talk to people like that in real life?

Yes, actually

 

[nightdancer]

Yep. I am known for my daily doses of sarcasm, humor and education.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

I have the feeling the OP won't be back in this forum.

It really is too bad when things like this happen. I know for certain that the people here are very kind and helpful, but there is only so much helping a person can do. In anything we learn, a person must be willing to do a little leg work of his or her own. Teachers can only do so much.

Ah, well.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Personally I feel bad for the teacher. This thread is being discussed on FB and I'm pretty sure she knows what has been posted.


Over the years I've had students want me to videotape the combinations we are learning, or the choreographies. They want detailed notes on dances or on "how to do the moves." I don't mind doing it, but it's a HECKOFALOT of work and takes up a lot of time. And if I get ONE student out of 20 to say thank you, I consider it a win.

I have students ask for dvd recommendations all the time. I always direct them to Leila of Cairo's dvd, which goes over the basics over and over and over and over again. It's great for drilling, but yet when I ask some students how they are coming along with it, I often hear "I watched it and it was boring."

Perhaps I need to make a note in my recommendation email that WATCHING the dvd is not the point.

For years I gave handouts for each class. Now I give students time after class to write things down. For a lot of people, if it's not in their own words and in their own handwriting, they don't get anything out of it.

 

[Shanazel]

Well, I hope the teacher drops in and realizes she's got some support as well. It just takes one disgruntled student to make one's life miserable., especially with FB.

 

[Creaky Old Dancer]

Issues with my teacher

Okay Shanie stop that I was going to post that. Yeah you never know when you're only hearing one side of a story. Creaks

 

[Aniseteph]

I had a few bumpy moments with my teacher (more of a misunderstanding) in two years, but we talked and cleared it.

:clap:. It's too easy to hear a passing remark and take it out of context or read too much into it. "Basics are boring" could be a serious teaching philosophy - :think: :shok: :naghty: worrying - or a flippant remark from someone who knows that they are important but is going to slip them under the radar with some choreographies. Until you get to know them more it's hard to tell if it's just that you aren't quite on the same wavelength.

FB - dontchajustloveit? (No).

 

[Jane]

Personally I feel bad for the teacher. This thread is being discussed on FB and I'm pretty sure she knows what has been posted.

Poor teacher, I hope she doesn't take it too personally. The face book discussion must be a group I'm not on, I saw nothing. OP lost my support when she: called Hakim disco sh*t, insinuated her teacher was over paid, wanted to throw around legalities and get her teacher fired, complained about personal terror issues (why are you in a performing art class- wtf?), inability to write her own basic notes after and bragged about her multiple degrees and being a professional learner (doesn't mean you can dance your way out of a wet paper bedleh with a tear anyway), cr@ppy attitude at the good folks on the list trying to assist her. And all this based on her vast experience of five total classes! Just no.

There are cr@ppy teachers out there, I had one myself when I started dancing. I sure as heck didn't realize it after five classes. I'm just not that hypercritical about things I know nothing about.

There are some students who do expect to be spoon fed everything and get angry with their teacher when they aren't as good as they feel they should be. For the pittance most teachers make, there will always be students who expect miracles and constant hand holding with no effort of their own outside of class.

I admit I don't bother to remember students names until I've seen them a couple times in class. There are just too many people and students who drop like flies when they realize it takes real work. There are students who show up once or twice and I never see them again. I'm not wasting my brain cells remembering them. I would never allow a newer student to video me for "home practice", who knows what they would do with it later? I hand out copies of my class choreography as a courtesy and extra learning tool, not because it's expected. Not many teachers do that anymore and many never have. Anything outside of class is unpaid and above and beyond. Most teachers are teaching for the love of it, not the huge sums of money :lol:

 

[Farasha Hanem]

Poor teacher, I hope she doesn't take it too personally. The face book discussion must be a group I'm not on, I saw nothing. OP lost my support when she: called Hakim disco sh*t, insinuated her teacher was over paid, wanted to throw around legalities and get her teacher fired, complained about personal terror issues (why are you in a performing art class- wtf?), inability to write her own basic notes after and bragged about her multiple degrees and being a professional learner (doesn't mean you can dance your way out of a wet paper bedleh with a tear anyway), cr@ppy attitude at the good folks on the list trying to assist her. And all this based on her vast experience of five total classes! Just no.

There are cr@ppy teachers out there, I had one myself when I started dancing. I sure as heck didn't realize it after five classes. I'm just not that hypercritical about things I know nothing about.

There are some students who do expect to be spoon fed everything and get angry with their teacher when they aren't as good as they feel they should be. For the pittance most teachers make, there will always be students who expect miracles and constant hand holding with no effort of their own outside of

That was EXACTLY when I lost respect for the OP, as well, but I was still willing to give her a second chance until she made that slam about some of us being rude. It seems that she wanted us to jump on her bandwagon in her vendetta against her teacher, and when we didn't, she got ticked off.

Is she the one that started the discussion on Facebook? If so, I can only imagine what she's written. If she's the one who dragged this out to FB, I've lost what little respect I might have had for her.

 

[Shanazel]

I would never allow a newer student to video me for "home practice", who knows what they would do with it later?

This. Yeah.

 

[Aniseteph]

Is she the one that started the discussion on Facebook?

No idea but she did post a clip at one point, and that and the class details meant that any interested party could ID the teacher in a couple of seconds.
And it's a small belly dance world out there.

 

[Amanda (was Aziyade)]

Hey gang, the FB discussion is sort of a private "group" -- only it's not a group, I think it's officially called a "conversation" - ? Or rather a message between a bunch of people. We sort of got together to discuss problems that our students posted on various places. So it's kind of secret, but not really. Some times it really helps to know your students' perspectives but you don't feel like you should comment on their public posts.

The OP was not a party to that conversation. The teacher is not either, but I have a feeling someone already emailed her about it. That's all I know.

 

[Farasha Hanem]

Ohhhh, okay. I'm glad it wasn't what I was thinking, then. I was afraid the problem had spilled onto FB publicly. I hope this whole thing doesn't adversely affect the teacher in question. It looks like she's trying to do her community good. I also hope the OP steps back and reconsiders her attitude, although I rather doubt she will.

 

[mahsati_janan]

Hey gang, the FB discussion is sort of a private "group" -- only it's not a group, I think it's officially called a "conversation" - ? Or rather a message between a bunch of people. We sort of got together to discuss problems that our students posted on various places. So it's kind of secret, but not really. Some times it really helps to know your students' perspectives but you don't feel like you should comment on their public posts.

The OP was not a party to that conversation. The teacher is not either, but I have a feeling someone already emailed her about it. That's all I know.

Sounds like a good group! I'm glad. I was afraid the OP had taken it to fb and was spreading negativity about the teacher.

 

[khanjar]

Face Book is a curse to the modern age, but powerful tool, so use it wisely.