Sunday, September 16, 2018

Why dance class is just as important as maths class


I was reading different articles from TEDtalks when I read this title which aroused my curiosity as it reminded me of our previous spider-web discussion on failure at school.
Sir Ken Robinson, who works with governments, education systems, international agencies, global corporations and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations,
stated in You, Your Child and School : Navigate Your Way to the Best Education, one of his latest book : « Dance can help restore joy and stability in troubled lives and ease the tensions in school disrupted by violence and bullying. »

What I read is just an extract from this book, praising the positive impact of a specific dance program that was implemented in some schools in the USA.
One specific case that can be seen in the article is the one of a young female student that was completely transformed by going through this program. Indeed she changed her attitude towards dance itself and her whole behaviour in school or at home.
It has been observed that dancing together definitely improves the abilities to cooperate and collaborate as well as it encouraging the notion of acceptance and respect among the children.
For some schools that had followed this program it was also discovered that reading skills or even grades in maths had been improved, showing that both art and physical activity might have a real positive impact on memory, concentration and classroom behaviour.
Do you think that school should focus more on dance or another form of art/physical ed in order to improve the students’ way of learning and thinking ?
You can click on the link below to have a broader view on the question and access the full article.

Enjoy !

Flora

2 comments:

  1. Absolutely agree Flora.
    Ken Robinson delivered one of the best TED talks I've seen: https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en

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  2. This is another interesting video, about teaching ballet in African slums:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAufiNM3Aus

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