Reflection
I had a couple of motivations for choosing this project. The first being that I love working with kids, the second being that I’ve danced all my life, love it and love to teach it. My senior year of high school I had the opportunity to teach two dance teams with girls ages 4-6 and 7-11. I absolutely loved it and wanted to find a way to do something like that again.
Last spring semester my grandparents were passing through Cedar City and I met them for lunch, my grandma mentioned during the meal that Mesquite (where they are from) didn’t have a dance teacher anymore. This is where the idea for my EDGE project started. After that I talked to the recreation director and pitched the idea. They accepted and I started planning and advertising my camps. When summer came I went and stayed in Mesquite for 5 weeks and taught for four weeks.
My goal for this project was to offer dance to people who didn’t already have the opportunity to take it and share my love and excitement of dance with others. I also wanted to make some money to help pay for school this semester. I feel I achieved my goals. I had girls come back for more than one camp because they enjoyed it and had mothers come up to me and tell me about how their daughters came home excited about what they had learned and were practicing outside of class. When the girls came for the dance camps they were enthusiastic and ready to learn.
I had to use a lot of the previous teaching skills that I have learned from teaching dance before. For example, I have learned a set routine that keeps the class in order and lets the girls know what to expect. I also used skills that I learned from previously working with younger kids. I had little tricks to keep their attention while I taught them what they were supposed to learn. Lastly, I had to use communication skills to let the recreation center know when a problem arose and to inform the parents about what was going on during the camps.
My leadership skills were developed in several ways throughout my EDGE project. Because I planned out and ran dance camps myself I got to learn a lot about how to organize and run a program. Along with that I had to coordinate with the Mesquite Recreation Center so I learned how to represent myself and my program to others and work out a deal. I went in a met with someone from the recreation center to work out when I would teach and other logistics of the job. I was able to learn how to handle and portray myself professionally. Along with that I was put in charge of little girls the whole time. This taught me how to run a program and be in charge of a group of people. I had to learn how to stand in front of a group, keep them engaged and make sure they learned something. I also learned how to communicate with the kids parents to let them know what their kids are learning and when their performance was.
I also had some new insights about leadership. Being a leader you need to be prepared to handle any situation. I had one time when one of the girls at the camp was being bossy and hurt another girls feelings, she ended up running off crying. Being the teacher and leader of the situation I had to step in and explain to the first girl how she may have hurt the other girl’s feelings and then getting her to apologize. I wasn’t expecting this to happen I had to just roll with the punches and handle each situation and it arose.
I believe SUU put an experimental learning requirement into place because the best way to learn about the real world is to go out and experience it. Hands on learning is usually what people learn best by. It also just makes sense. If you want to know how a company runs then the best way to learn is to go intern for a company. Experience is one of the best learning tools.
The metaphor to the “EDGE” is that the project should give you an edge above the competition. When you go to apply for a job this project gives you experience that puts you above another candidate with the same qualifications. This is important for those who will be graduating soon because they are the ones who will be soon looking for a job.
Overall, the EDGE project was a great experience. I was able to find a project I was invested in and learn quite a few different skills. I made connections that I could potentially use in the future and I now have an “EDGE” above my competition.