Role and responsibilities of a dance supervisor during internship

Dance Supervisor

Activity Description and Summary

The community involvement activity I participated in was supervising a my middle school's fall dance. This activity required me, along with several other peers, to monitor and regulate the dance activities. The dance lasted 3 hours and was held in the school gymnasium where I teach.

Program Outcome Rationale

The Program Outcome that most reflects this activity is School and Community Leadership. The outcome objectives are as follows for this selection:

Build strong community relations by modeling and promoting equity, fairness, and respect among faculty, staff, students, parents and community leaders.

Provide opportunities for stakeholders to develop and use skills in collaboration, shared decision making and responsibility for the purpose of maintaining a comprehensive program of positive home/school relationships.

Acknowledge and respect the goals, values, and aspirations of diverse family and community groups by engaging the support of business, philanthropic, political, social, and civic or faith-based organizations and other resources to enrich the school's climate, culture and diverse learning infrastructure.

Maintain a broad communication network throughout the school and community by using a wide variety of print and electronic media modes whiles establishing a high level of visibility and active involvement among stakeholders

This activity was social in nature and necessitated the role of leader using alternative and creative means to demonstrate proper leadership.

Community Partnerships

The social and cultural values that are shared and nurtured within a school is important in student development and educational awareness. A school dance showcases the social skills of students and measures their ability to function in non-academic situations. The potential for new discovery is great in these types of social gatherings.

The social and emotional awareness that a community's children experience directly impact on that community in many ways. Elias et at (2003) agreed with the role of developing social skills as being integral in middle school education. They wrote " evidence is mounting from the field of brain-based research that the processes of learning, and especially retention with the flexibility needed for application in new contexts, is linked to social and emotional factors in students and in the teaching learning environment." This suggests that school leadership is essential in guiding this activity in the right direction.

In many ways the public school does not mirror society. In the real world such social activities like dances are much less coordinated and monitored and the individual has more choices to behavior. By hosting such dances, however, the students get practice in social skills and the ability to interact with members of the opposite sex, a precondition for normal functioning in the professional world. These efforts reflect an attempt to improve the community level of social awareness by addressing it with these students.

The role of the principal in this case is to ensure that a safe yet open environment is provided for to allow the student to socialize on a different level. It is essential that this environment is created so that parents may feel safe and understand the importance of these socialization exercises.

Impact on Student Achievement

School dances can allows students to express themselves in new and different means. The act of dressing up for the dance allows the students to both express their individuality and creativity through personal expression. The use of dance to enhance this socialization is also useful as it provides a harmonious background for the students to socially express themselves.

Student achievement is ultimately impacted by the fun and joy that is created out of such gatherings. The student body itself will fell a new level of camaraderie that was developed out of the collective celebration. New friendships and relationships can also blossom in these types of social gatherings which help enrich the educational experienced and humanize it at the same time.

Reflection