Task 5b

The codes of practice/regulations which steer the ethical framework in the place of work/professional community.


http://www.education.gov.mt/ministry/doc/code_of_ethics.htm

I looked at this after reading Mark Illes blog and found it incredibly useful. It goes into a lot of detail about many ethical expectations that I hadn't considered before. For example, the relationship the teacher actually needs to have with a child's parent. In primary schools I don't often see the parents or the parents are not particularly interested in the part I play in their child's education, although it seems. Maybe I should make more of an effort to speak to parents after a dance club, this would probably help understanding and may even ensure future participation. This is very different at the dancing school. I wish I had more time to disclose information to parents. They love to know about progress and I have started to be more generous with my time although it is difficult.  I hope progress is evident enough in exam results, reports, presentations and shows.

In my original list of ethical considerations I failed to go into so much detail about professionalism, privacy and respect for all those that surround me. I focused more on the physical rather than the psychological responsibities I carry rather then what is required for creating a well rounded individual. On the other hand, I do think I pretty much covered most points. I feel in this case that good communication and common sense is important, conscientiousness is imperative.

http://www.comdance.asn.au/code-of-ethics  Here I found that reputation and standards protecting an organisations reputation came high on their list of ethical expectations. Self discipline and motivation next and empathy, with a good sense of morals. In my outlined points I only looked at "does" and not really at "don'ts", but rights and wrongs that surround the dance industry were oulined, for example one should not canvass students or steel choreography from another teacher. Id imagine this would come under being fair, considerate and professional.

http://www.ausdance.org.au/professional_practice/dance-industry-code-of-ethics.html
This site emphasized that one needs to share their passion, pass on knowledge gained through experience and give all they can to instill a positve vibe/view of dance.

My findings differ from my assumptions. Ethics are actually about whats right and whats wrong, whats expected and what is unacceptable. I did assume that ethics are for protection of everyone's best interests, however in my list I did not even consider those equal to me. I have a responsibility towards everyone that surrounds me within the industry, I should even consider a teacher at another "rival" dance school. Ethics really erg one to be as selfless as one can possibly be within reason. In future I need to consider all that is affected by my presence in this business. Like a drop in a pond, the ripples sometimes seem endless and being aware of the impact I create is fundamental for my understanding in what I offer as a positive contribution to the dance world. I was a little to direct before and focused mainly on the immediate effect I have on my students rather than the bigger picture.

Task 5a

Considering Ethics Within my Workplace

Without reference to any documents or discussion relying on my own thoughts wholly the work ethics I feel apply in dance education are as follows:

• Safety - I must have procedures in place and a good knowledge of the environment I am teaching in. For example possible hazards should be removed from the space, fire exits clear from obstruction, good quality facilities etc. Another part of my job would be to ensure that individuals were not injured are able to participate and have in some cases filed in an exercise readiness questionnaire. Ensuring participants are wearing appropriate clothing/shoes and are not chewing gum, hair tied back, that sort of thing.

• Image - Dress accordingly and appropriately. "Look the part"; Clean, neat, tidy and organised. Present yourself well in your approach and delivery.

•  Punctuality - Again organisation.

•  Differentiate - Between boys, girls, the talented, gifted, average, struggling, no matter what their level of ability whether they are old or young. Create opportunities for everyone to learn and develop appropriately. Looking after an individuals unique physical and emotional needs as much as possible.

• Consistency with excellent approach and delivery.

• Show good awareness of responsibilities.

• Legal requirements adhered to: CRB, Tax, National Insurance, PPL, Insurance, qualifications and certificates. Injury report forms, risk assessments. Up to date knowledge of work being covered. 

• Able to lone work and work as part of a team with respect for others and the general ethos within the establishment.

• Organisation - Lesson planning, ensuring music, choreography etc is appropriate and well structured with extra plans to fall back on. Be flexible.

•  Be approachable, friendly, motivated, honest and reliable.

• Able to assess situations and act accordingly. 

A lot of these bullit points involve appropriatness and organsiation. I think that thats the key to success and is very important. One must be able to judge a situation and act accordingly as others expect or beyond expectations. Consistently providing a quality service that know one could doubt whether co-worker, parent, student or other.

SIG: Education and training, was it appropriate for your career?

SIG

Ok it has took me a while to get to this point. The SIG's allowed me to go off on a tangent and it took a while to realise that these, all be it, similar discussions of interesting topics, moved the focus from my own Inquiry. Helpful though these discussions are in finding a deep understanding of my own questions, my initial ideas ended up being diluted. SIG has created a great sense of community and a real feeling that we are all learning together. I thought I disagreed earlier with Mark's rant about SIG, conversely I am now feeling that I do have some issues with the whole discussion board ethos. I became lost when it came to making an actual commitment to one specific idea. I do feel that the advantages do greatly out weigh the disadvantages here though as so much can be learnt from such a rich community of learners.

Getting back to basics and trying not to tag along with an others Inquiry.  I do still want to think about how we are prepared for the big wide world in the later stages of education. I also feel that there are significant differences in the private and the public dance sector of education and I want to know why more isn't done to close the gap. I know one huge issue is money, as it looks now, the future isn't bright for funding in the Arts.

Why are Dance/MT colleges so exclusive still?
Why are so many reluctant to fund the Arts?
Why is there such a stigma when it comes to the levels of intelligence in the Arts?
Would an apprentice scheme work better in the 3rd year of the dance college experience?
Would those joining dance college at 16 benefit from a 4th year in this (apprentice) style of education?

Another Idea

How can dance help in Education?
Why is dance at such a low standard in schools?
This question is high on my list for Inquiry how can one be inspired to dance or others respect dance when it is so boring and basic in public schools? I understand we have dance schools for this but not everyone can afford the training that is needed.

Initial thoughts for my inquiry

Establishing my professional practise helped me come up with some ideas as to where to go next with my Inquiry. I think the original idea I explored in the last module involved choreography. This would be something that would not be appropriate at this point in my career as I need to support my future. choreography would come into the bigger picture later. For now I want to secure my knowledge in something that I find interesting at the same time as being benificial to my developing professional practise.

That is the reasoning behind my thought shower diagram. I needed a starting point and really struggled to see the surface in the deep pool of possibilities. I decided to start as close to home as possible. I have a lot of experience in teaching and have taught many ages and abilities. I wanted to develop thoughts on education performance and ability. I have spent most of my career as a teacher, I find teaching incredibly rewarding. At the moment I am using discusions on facebook SIG to help clarify and develop ideas and possible routes to take.

I have been taking an active part in these discussions and it has given me food for thought. Time to process all the information that the incredibly responsive BAPP team have presented to form some sort of plan!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/topic.php?uid=145821545478191&topic=75