First 'A' Class
Jan. 25th, 2006 12:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drscottWent straight from the gym to Togo's for dinner, then to Cupertino for the first official class. Since no new students showed up and everyone had been to both intro nights, we plowed ahead with 4 new calls, including the dreaded Chain Reaction. Which isn't as bad as I remembered, just a tad complex.
Early on there was a slight problem in that we had exactly 8 students and 7 angels. This meant all the students had to be in one square and the 7 angels in another, since students can't tolerate a square with a missing dancer. The weaker students, encountering each other more often, muffed even some Plus calls. Nathan called around and rounded up several more angels by the 30-minute mark, so that problem went away and things went more smoothly thereafter. I had studied the calls in advance now that I know the teaching order, so had few problems. Paul was feeling much better after his brief illness.
After bringing up Michael Levy's minor failings in the last report, I discovered (oops!) that Michael is on LJ as![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sfleatherbear. Hi Michael! You're fabulous! Pay no attention to what I said earlier! :-)
One thought for technologically-advanced square dance teachers (attn: Andy), it would be interesting to add a projector/video screen to the repertoire of tools used. As each call is taught, the projector could show the name of the call in large print, the definition below, and maybe one of the better animations. I, and probably lots of other people, do better in forming connections when more of the neural pathways are engaged at once. Taught by audio association to movement, I have great difficulty in working backward from the visualized motion to the name of the call. More senses should aid quicker learning. Someone could work up a DVD holding the slides for all the Callerlab definitions and do everybody a big service.
Early on there was a slight problem in that we had exactly 8 students and 7 angels. This meant all the students had to be in one square and the 7 angels in another, since students can't tolerate a square with a missing dancer. The weaker students, encountering each other more often, muffed even some Plus calls. Nathan called around and rounded up several more angels by the 30-minute mark, so that problem went away and things went more smoothly thereafter. I had studied the calls in advance now that I know the teaching order, so had few problems. Paul was feeling much better after his brief illness.
After bringing up Michael Levy's minor failings in the last report, I discovered (oops!) that Michael is on LJ as
sfleatherbear. Hi Michael! You're fabulous! Pay no attention to what I said earlier! :-)One thought for technologically-advanced square dance teachers (attn: Andy), it would be interesting to add a projector/video screen to the repertoire of tools used. As each call is taught, the projector could show the name of the call in large print, the definition below, and maybe one of the better animations. I, and probably lots of other people, do better in forming connections when more of the neural pathways are engaged at once. Taught by audio association to movement, I have great difficulty in working backward from the visualized motion to the name of the call. More senses should aid quicker learning. Someone could work up a DVD holding the slides for all the Callerlab definitions and do everybody a big service.
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Date: 2006-01-25 11:55 pm (UTC)Reminds me of the ideas behind O'Reilly's "Head First ________" books.
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Date: 2006-01-26 12:35 am (UTC)It's easy to identify the weaker dancers. I can understand messing up a call or two because everyone does that. But some of the students are clearly Plus-deficient and it will be a big project to get all of us to dance at A2 by Convention. Already, I want to take two dancers to a private room and teach them the difference between Left and Right.
One thought for technologically-advanced square dance teachers (attn: Andy), it would be interesting to add a projector/video screen to the repertoire of tools used. As each call is taught, the projector could show the name of the call in large print, the definition below, and maybe one of the better animations.
I like this idea a lot, but probably for different reasons. When a new call is introduced (especially a complex call), it gets taught as a series of smaller calls: do this, do that, do this, do this, do this, do that. However, understanding what the whole pattern looks like would help immensely.
It wasn't until after we finished our Plus class, for example, that I realized that in a Teacup Chain, the ladies (almost always, but sometimes it's the men if you want to be less traditional) progress from man to man in the square. I only knew, as a Boy, that ladies kept coming at me and I kept having to send them to the same place. Duh.
It's the same idea with Relay the Deucey or Chain Reaction. Once you see the pattern, it doesn't matter what position you start from. Had I seen the pattern ahead of time, I would have caught on much faster and been able to help my fellow dancers.
Having said that, I'm not too sure anyone would do this in a real teaching situation. Sigh.
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Date: 2006-01-26 05:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-08 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-08 06:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-26 12:38 am (UTC)[incredulous look]
Date: 2006-01-26 01:28 am (UTC)Re: [incredulous look]
Date: 2006-01-26 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-26 05:17 am (UTC)But I know how you old people get cranky when it's one of them new-fangled gadgets. :-)
Hmm, you could do a lot with big placards on an easel. Just no animation...
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Date: 2006-01-26 06:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-26 06:32 am (UTC)