The Ancient Art of Teaching

Education is important. For thousands of yearsmay benefit from classes outside of school hours and
knowledge has been passed from generation tomay choose to send their child to dance lessons. The
generation, from basic survival skills to anrole of a dance teacher is not dissimilar to that of a
understanding of culture and the arts. Children learnschool teacher. They too need to recognise individual
an awful lot from their parents and immediate familystrengths and weaknesses and have an ability to
in their formative years, how to communicate, beingguide a child to success. A dance teacher should
toilet training and how to dress themselves may allalways have a class small enough to allow them to
seem like very basic skills, but they are vital forpay individual attention to students, and there should
everyday life. The vast majority of children in the UKbe a safe and healthy learning environment. Dance
are sent to school once they are old enough, and areteachers should be both supportive and encouraging,
taught by professional teachers who are trained tonurturing an innate talent and celebrating
understand their needs and recognise individualachievements of pupils. Most adults remember
strengths and weaknesses. Teachers are alsoteachers from their childhood, and there is often one
knowledgeable about different teaching techniqueswho stood out for being more understanding and
and styles of learning, and many students thrive inapproachable than the others. There is no reason
the school environment.why a good dance teacher should not be
There are more lessons to be learned in schools thanremembered in this way by former students for
the ones which take place in the classroom. Socialisingyears to come.
with a peer group at lunch times and break timesLearning is not something which stops when school
also provides valuable knowledge about how toand college is finished. People continue to acquire new
interact with others. Children soon learn that sharing isskills throughout their lives. It can be amazing
important and how to treat others if they wish to besometimes to watch a television programme and
treated nicely themselves. In any school environmentrealise how much there is still to learn about the
there may well be more difficult students who arewider world, and how much can still be achieved as
disruptive, and other students learn that thesewe get older. A great example of this is the story of
behaviours are not acceptable, about consequencesSusan Boyle, who has recently become famous for
and about the affects of behaviour on others.her singing after years of trying to achieve
There is no reason why learning should be seen asrecognition. The strain of Britain's Got Talent has
the business of schools and colleges alone. Reading,shown, but Susan Boyle is a great example that
writing and drawing at home can also really help apeople should never give up on their dreams.
child to succeed. Some parents decide that their child