Task 3a: Current Networks

Image source: www.facebook.com

I am sure that most people reading this blog would see the humour in this image, as I did when it appeared on my newsfeed only a few days ago.  However, when reflecting over the use of social media and its place in the professional world, this image goes from light-hearted and comedic to something quietly terrifying in an instant.  This has inspired me to consider the questions in this task in a new light…


What are the current and different ways (tools) that you have, or do, engage your professional network?
When considering the network tools and platforms that I use at the moment, I felt it easier to split them into categories to help make sense of which part of my life they fall in to:

Professional/Personal Hybrid Tools: 

Facebook:  I currently have two Facebook accounts and I set these up with a purpose in mind; to be able to keep personal and professional contacts separate as well as control 'how much' of me is viewed by colleagues and employers.  However, over the years, through having so many professional contacts who have also become friends of mine, these separate pages have lost their identity and merged into each other.  From previous jobs, especially those over seas, I have many friends located around the world and for ease and speed of connecting with them and keeping up to date with their lives, albeit often on the other side of the world, I have to admit Facebook is my personal favourite social media platform at present.

Twitter:  I used to be a very passive user of Facebook, although since starting on the BAPP course, I have been 'tweeting' more often.  These have not been 'tweets' related to the course per say, more that I realised I had never really tried to make myself an active 'tweeter'.  I believe in giving everything a fair chance and with the course in mind, I feel this is the opportune time to try my hand at 'tweeting'.  I would say there is approximately a 90/10 split between my professional and personal tweets at present, although I am certainly enjoying the ease networking as a professional on Twitter.  My recent connections have brought me into contact with an agency who are now in the process of casting me on their books, so I can certainly prove that networking on this platform can be highly successful.

Skype:  I used Skype on a personal level when working away from home for long periods to keep in regular contact with friends and family and have always enjoyed the ease and simplicity of it, however I was quite surprised when I heard about Skype sessions for the purpose of the BAPP course.  I am yet to join a session (due to my work schedule), although I am intrigued to see if the process of using the network is as simple and effective when used within group setting.

Email:  This is probably the number one way in which I am booked for work, be it teaching jobs, events work or performance jobs.  This is however a secondary form of networking in my opinion as I would rarely email a company before I have other contact with them via another form of networking.  For example, the agency I have just signed with firstly contacted me on Twitter but since, have been emailing me regarding the finer details.

'Offline' networking:

Text Messages:  I regularly use text messaging as a way of keeping in contact with companies and confirming job details.  Although texting is not always seen as a professional way of communicating, it is fast and efficient and I feel it depends on the working relationship dynamics combined with the content of the text messages as to whether it is appropriate. For example, when I text my boss I do not end the message with kisses, as I would my partner and I keep the message direct and on point.  I would also, for ethical reasons never mention children's names for example or their examination pin numbers in a text message as this is all confidential information and needs to be handled with sensitivity and professionalism.

Phone Conversation:  Telephone conversations are extremely important in my eyes, as it I feel it is a far more personal way of networking than simply 'tweeting' or 'liking' a company, or even emailing them.  In any form of written communication, the emotional intent of a typed sentence can be viewed differently by the reader than it was intended by the writer, whereas a phone conversation irradiates this possible mishap in communication; this could be the different between a positive networking opportunity and a missed one, or worse, a negative interaction.

Face to Face Networking:  I recently began teaching a new class, offering the first lesson free as a trial. Although the use of social media to promote the class initially worked better than some more traditional methods of marketing probably could have (leafleting, posters, newspaper adverts), was free of charge and undoubtedly reached a target audience much faster, the real test was having the potential students in the room and interacting with them to engage them, ensuring they had fun.  If my face to face networking skills had been lacking, those students may not have come back the following week and signed up to a terms worth of classes, which would have meant a loss of income and outstanding hall fees.

Professional Networking Tools:

Casting Call Pro: This is a great platform for networking professionals as there is a supply and demand feel; companies need artists and artists need work, I do not like that it is a paid tool, only available to those willing to pay a monthly subscription fee.  In a 'normal' profession, lets consider a teacher, the prospective employee would be able to contact a school regarding a vacant position free of charge. So why is it acceptable and reasonable to assume that within the 'industry', professionals have to pay for the same opportunities?

Dance-teachers.org: Created and regulated by the ISTD dance examination and training board, this is a  free of charge networking platform for all ISTD qualified teachers to easily promote themselves and/or their schools.  I have had many work opportunities through this site as it is easy to use and contact details are displayed for potential students and employers.

LinkedIn: I use this as an online resume, where a history of my employment is clearly displayed along with my aspirations and a way for potential employers to contact me.  This platform has, so far at least, not brought me any work opportunities but I keep myself on there as it is a purely professional networking site.

Google+/Blogging: Prior to enrolling on the BAPP course, I had little experience with blogs.  I am now enjoying interacting with peers and practitioners and finding it very easy to navigate.  Going forward, I am unsure as to how useful keeping a blog will be for me personally, although I feel I may become a passive user of blogs, especially those relating to teaching and performing arts as I have found some blogs with wonderful insights and inspirational ideas.

Pinterest: Although this is not a traditional 'networking platform', I do find I use interest a lot as it has many idea for teaching, from lesson planning, to the curriculum and even posts on tackling behavioural issues, which can be 're-pinned' onto my own network for current or future inspiration.  It is a very user friendly tool which I enjoy and has thousands of creative people pinning fresh ideas every day making it ideal for my work.

Intranet:  The performing arts company I have recently begun teaching for has an intranet site which has thousands of old lesson plans, covering a huge variety of topics and teaching strategies.  I feel this is going to become a great site to bounce ideas around with other specialists when lesson planning, especially when looking at topics I may not be as confident with, such as maths or physics.

What are the established (and different) ways that others use their network, especially if they are more established or experienced practitioners that you admire?

Reflection on a peers blog post (1) has shown me a brilliant technique for handling my professional image on social media (web 2.0).

 "I have a separate Facebook Profile and Page, a Twitter account for my performance persona as well as for 'myself', separate websites, different LinkedIn and YouTube pages, under both my performer name and my real name." 

Quote source:  http://danitougher.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/task-3a-current-networks.html

Although, as a teacher, I do not have a separate persona or alter ego per say, I feel I can create a solution with this idea in mind.  Adapting this concept, I can create secondary personal profiles with a different name (maybe a nickname that does not include my surname, especially as it is rather unusual!) to stay connected with my friends, so that I cannot be 'looked up' on sites such as Facebook and Twitter by potential colleagues/employers/students.  Using this method, my professional image and CV would still be easily accessible to potential employers via an internet search, whilst making it easier than at present, for me to control how much of the social 'me' is seen in the eye of the general public, in turn lessening the risk of potential negative fallout on my professional image.

Are there methods, approaches and technologies that you use socially that might apply and help you develop your professional networking?


I would approximate then when reflecting on my daily use of social media, there is a 80:20 (personal:professional) time split between how many times I 'log on' to browse pages each day.  For example, without fail, I will check my personal Facebook profile whilst eating breakfast each morning, for no particular reason than to see what has happened during the seven hours where most of my friends have been asleep (It really is crazy how much of a habit Facebook can become).  In contrast, I will only log onto LinkedIn if I remember or if a notification appears on my phone.

When reflecting on this, I wonder, if I were to make LinkedIn (or other tools I use for professional networking) part of my daily musing rather than my personal profiles on Facebook and Twitter etc, would I find more opportunities would present themselves?  If I were to put this in to terms of a practical experience, I am effectively socialising with friends, for up to an hour and a half each day whereas I am only 'working' and potentially increasing my professional opportunities online for maybe fifteen minutes per day.  This is a obscene imbalance and something that I need to consider more in the future, finding ways of putting my time online to more productive use.

When you reflect upon current networks, can you think about the motives of others to be in the network and what values and purposes they have in mind?

Other than networks specifically aimed at professionals where I only know people who have shown specific interest in me for jobs - Casting Call Pro, Danceteachers.org and others mentioned above - I would say most of the people in my current networks are either ex or current colleagues or other professional industry friends, be it through performing or teaching.  I feel within the industry there is an unspoken rule that people always stay 'friends' (I use this term very loosely in some cases) with ex colleagues on social media as they may one day be in a position to offer work to them.  I am unsure if this same methodology applies in the 'real world', however I feel with the performance industry being so cliquey and the long standing idea of 'it is who you know, not what you know' being thrown around,   I would say that this form of networking is more likely to be more prevalent.

However, after thinking further about this I then stumbled upon this image which takes the original quote and puts a new social media based perspective on it:

Food for thought!

Image Source: www.linkedin.com

What would your ideal network look like and why and what realistic things could you do to work towards developing your ideal network?

After reflecting on the ways in which I have previously used my social networking tools and the knock on effect of private information being shared on public platforms, my 'reincarnated' networks and profiles will be taking on somewhat of a considerable 'facelift', if you will.  Using the newfound  techniques of my peers, as stated above, I will be endeavouring to make a clear cut distinction between my public professional image and my private personal networks via the methods I previously discussed.    A quote that I will keep in mind during this social media transition point is:

Image source: www.pinterest.com

Conclusion:

I have really enjoyed this task and the process of reflection I have undergone to recognise the path I would now look to going down, in regards to my images on social media (Web 2.0).  I think my thoughts on social media have developed immensely as to recognising that there are pros and cons in equal measure to social media.  My thoughts right now are that, if social media is done well, it is an incredibly powerful tool but, in equal measure, when abused, it can be just even more powerful and that, for me makes it something to be treated with a great deal of respect.

Task 2d: Inquiry

As a dance and drama teacher from a professional performance background, when reflecting on my work, there are several questions relating to the need for me to gain Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) before I am able to teach within a state school environment that are in the forefront of my mind:

1. Why do I need a degree level qualification to teach performing arts within a state school when I teach dance at an equivalent (be it GCSE or A-Level standard) with proven results within the private sector? Moreover, why is somebody with a degree in History, a PGCE certificate and no subject based training more qualified to teach performing arts than I am? 
2. Why are the Performing Arts not compulsory within the National Curriculum?
3. When there are such high levels of childhood obesity within our society, why is dance not a compulsory subject?
4. The Performing Arts are proven strategies for tackling behavioural issues within schools, so why are they not compulsory given that there is such a large percentage of children struggling to 'behave' within a classroom setting?

Reflecting on these questions it is clear that I do not agree with the 'red tape' issues surrounding the governments idea of the lack of necessity for the performing arts, be it dance, drama or even music to appear within the national curriculum.  

This may well form part of my final inquiry although there may well be another path I choose to take when considering the questions below:

What in your daily practice gets you really enthusiastic to find out more about? 

Within my work as a teaching assistant at an SEN school, I would love to know about the effect the performing arts can have on a child with special needs and whether children with different needs would respond differently to performing arts lessons.  For example, would an autistic child benefit more, less or equally as much within a drama lesson as a child with downs syndrome?  How about a child with ADHD?  Could having a heavier performing arts based curriculum create a more wholesome, positive and beneficial learning environment for such children than the current national guidelines where children are often stuck behind a desk for hours on end?  Could the same be true of non SEN children and even those who are considered gifted academically?

What gets you angry or makes you sad? Who do you admire who shares your feelings or has found a way to work around the sadness or anger?

It angers me to know that performing arts is often spoken about as though it is an irrelevant or 'easy' subject simply because it is (at GCSE/A-level award) a 'non-academic' subject.  The performing arts teaches children to think outside of the box and in a creative manner which can only be a positive, when we consider that eight million pounds per hour is generated within the UK economy from jobs within the creative industries (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-worth-8million-an-hour-to-uk-economy) Surely this is simply setting the future generations up for success?  Modern technologies can bring us the definitive answers we require for maths equations faster than a human brain could even hope to scan the information, so it is crucial we have other 'strings to our bows' as requiring the knowledge to solve maths and other academic problems without the use of an app or program is slowly becoming obsolete. 

The company that I have recently begun working for has many testimonials from head teachers across the country who fully believe in the power of the performing arts and the positive enrichment holistic performing arts can bring to children.

http://www.artiseducation.com

What do you love about what you do?

Within my current job role as dance and drama teacher, I love to see the children develop their talents but also reach their goals and strive to better themselves.  For example, a child that I have taught for two years has recently been offered a place at a prestigious performing arts school, which has been a dream of hers since she was much younger.  Not only am I proud of her achievement and excited for her, I am also content in the knowledge that I was part of helping her to achieve this goal.  

A slightly different example of what I love about my work is seeing the way in which the performing arts can directly affect a child's confidence and social skills.  I once taught a child who was severely bullied at school, so much so that her parents had to move the family away to start a fresh.  It was at the beginning of a summer school that her parents enrolled her with the dance school for two weeks and at first she was painfully shy.  However, with a lot of persuasion and positive reinforcement, the child was able to involve herself with a small group of girls who went to the same school she would be starting that September.  By the end of the six week holidays the group were inseparable, the child had blossomed in confidence and had a good core group of friends for when she started at her new school.  I felt so honoured that I was able to be involved with turning that child's life around and proud that she had trusted me enough to let me in.   

What do you feel you don't understand? 

I do not understand why there is only the option for children to learn about one style of dance (contemporary) as part of the GCSE program?  Within all of the compulsory GCSE subjects there is choice to ensure that the children can attain the highest possible mark, depending on their strengths.  For example, a teacher would not expect a child who strives in chemistry but struggles in biology to enter the biology exam? So why then is it conceivable and acceptable to force a child who is taking GCSE dance to perform a contemporary piece.  If a child has learnt Irish dance from a young age, a genre which could not be further removed from contemporary, why can't they choreograph in the style they are passionate about and are technically proficient at? Schools claim to want to bring out the best in children and help them succeed, is this meeting those expectations, or merely making it easier for the history teachers to deliver a dance course?

 

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation? To what extent are disciplinary responses different to that you might expect more generally in society?

It is strange how my ethical approach differs depending on the setting I am teaching in, either a private or public sector school:

Private sector:

When teaching dance it is more than conceivable, that it would be relevant to physically correct a child in order to help teach them correct technique, however just to cover myself and fall in line with child protection policies, I always ensure a waiver is signed by the parent/guardian of the child in question before allowing any child to partake in a class.  I will also only teach where there are windows and always ensure parents stay on site to further avoid any possible allegations, which unfortunately seem to be so prevalent in todays society.

I also have my own rules regarding age and gender.  For example, I only ever physically correct a boy over eleven years of age from the knee down or the elbow down as otherwise, this could lead to embarrassment for both myself and the child in question.  A girl on the other hand, I treat slightly differently, often physically correcting faults in hip placement or using my hand as a 'shelf' to 'peel' over in a back bend position.  

Public sector:

When teaching dance in school, I would never physically correct a child as this could be viewed as  inappropriate by child protection officers.  I deem this to be a very sad state of affairs as physical correction in dance is one of the best teaching methods, however I would rather this than be falsely accused of inappropriate actions.   

Line of Inquiry:

Whilst working alongside 'Artis Education' as a performing arts specialist and also teaching dance and drama within the private sector I think a strong final line of inquiry would be…

…How can dance and drama enrich the national curriculum?

I would like my degree to be in the 'Professional Practice of Dance and Drama Teaching' and I feel this line of enquiry would consolidate the reflective processes I will have been through to attain this degree title.  

Task 2b: Reflective Writing - Journal Writing Experience

As I have been struggling in regards to writing my journal I thought that perhaps if I find a style of writing I am inherently drawn towards first, I may find the process less daunting overall.  I remember from back in my school days that comparisons have to be based on fair experiments, so to make this a valid comparison I should record the same day in each different writing style to find the winner.  This is what I found:

Descriptive:

I really enjoyed writing descriptively, perhaps a little too much.  I found that I almost began to evolve what had actually happened in the day into my version of happy events, almost making a fairy tale of how I would have liked my day to have gone.  I am not sure that this will therefore be the optimum writing style for me as I may not have anything to learn from if I look back and read that everything in my day went swimmingly! 

Initial Reflection:

I found this style of reflection interesting and found it highlighted that sometimes I can have quite a negative reaction to unexpected situations within a class, as I find it irritating that there is a disruption to the flow of the lesson and wasted lesson time.  This technique is one that I can see myself incorporating within my journal writing, especially when there is an unexpected situation, so I can see how my moods and reactions affect the lesson and hopefully I will learn to suppress my initial negative thoughts before I know the whole story.

List:

I have always enjoyed making lists as I love the satisfied feeling of being able to check things off.  When it came to making a journal entry in this style however, I found it rather difficult to get along with.  Instead I tried a spider diagram list hybrid approach which worked much better as I was able to connect points together but still keep to the main points of the day.  I appreciated the way in which I could see the direct connection between an event and the mood/feeling that emerged  (child crying - stress!). This is most definitely a style in which I will continue to write and I feel I will learn a lot about my work by reflecting in this way. 

Evaluation:

I have to say that for me this is really a critical part of all my journal entries anyway as I feel not evaluating each day would be like writing a story with a beginning, middle and then no end…it is futile and frustrating.  So for me this will be used as part of a combined effort along with the other styles I will be using in future.  

Graphs, charts and diagrams:

My day in a Pie Chart:

Although I have never been a huge a fan of maths (currently re-sitting GCSE maths for my PGCE), I REALLY enjoyed this task! It was a fun way of looking at the way in which I spent my day and almost gave me some validation of the amount of work I actually do it a day, especially when people say how easy it is being a dance teacher! Going forward, I will continue to use this method in my journals as I feel it brings some light relief and fun to to journal writing experience. 

What If?:

I have almost lived my life by this motto, especially when an audition or other opportunity arose, for example, what if I don't seize that opportunity right now, will i look back and regret it.  This has led me to some amazing places and offered some fantastic opportunities.  I personally feel that this is a great method when considering future options, however as a form of journal writing I am not a huge fan.  I found I could only reflect on the negatives and not find many positives to balance it out.  I am not likely to carry on using this style in the future. 

Another View:

I found this style interesting and very helpful as it was like looking at myself through another persons eyes.  For example, when dealing with a child who was upset because they are not ready to take an exam they were hoping to take, I was able to feel more empathy towards the situation.  This is probably the most helpful style of reflection for me, especially as when I am teaching, I am on show to many different people and being able to clearly visualise and reflect on how past conversations may have been viewed, it will help me to further build positive relationships with colleagues, students and parents.  

Overall:

Rather than using one particular style, I will be using a multitude of styles depending on the events of the day I am reflecting on.  If there was an interpersonal situation then I would most likely use 'another view' whereas if I had a particularly busy day I may use a spider diagram to get down the most important events quickly.  I am very much looking forward to seeing where my new found journal writing skills take me and how they develop during the next tasks. 

Task 2a: Reflective Practices

I have been putting this next group of tasks off for quite some time now as I am not comfortable with writing down my thoughts on paper and to be honest, I am not really sure why.  I am not anxious in a literary sense, just maybe that the idea of seeing flaws in work in black and white is a little daunting.  Not for one moment am I entertaining the idea that my work is always perfect (I will quite happily re-work a section of choreography, even an entire dance over and over because I am not satisfied), just that by writing imperfections in my work down, it becomes like a permanent record in my mind.

I have however started to keep a journal now, so far just in a pros and cons bullet point format each day  that outlines what went well and also where I need to improve and so far this is working for me, perhaps because I can balance out the negativity with the positives.  I have found that this is having a little influence on my day to day work however, nothing huge yet, but I do feel more organised and seem to be on top of my work more than usual.  In turn this is making me less stressed and able to balance out my personal and work life without feeling guilty that I am out to dinner when there is work to be done at home.  The next step for my journal is to start writing in different ways as mentioned in the reader and other students blogs, to see if my journal can help me further within my work.

I read reader two after beginning my blog and there are some ideas within it that I am excited about exploring.  I recently auditioned for a company named 'Artis Education' who "physicalise the curriculum through performing arts" and one of the interview questions was, "can you order these in order of importance; engagement, fun, evidence of learning?".  This connects perfectly with John Dewey's work and insights into experience and reflection, so I am really looking forward to moving through these tasks and exploring in depth the learning processes and being able to evaluate myself and the reflective processes I use every day.  I must be doing something right too…I got the job! :)

http://www.artiseducation.com/home