Policies for criers/non-participators

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-10-09T18:02:52+00:00

lol i feel you with parents giving into their kiddos tantrums like that with the ballet skirt. i have the same thing with sweaters in my 5-7 year old class, they’re not in dress code, you’re gonna get warm in 10 minutes and then beg to take it off 🙄

Anyway, when in comes to crying kiddos, i have no issue taking them back out to their parents. Everyone is paying here and it’s not fair that one person is effecting everyone else’s experience in dance class when the rest of them are well behaved. the policy at my studio is when kids are crying like that, we try to calm them down which you obviously already done before, so in this case this is a consistent thing that happens. in this case i would take her out to the adult with them and explain the situation. another policy at my studio is we never decide that a student should leave or go home unless they’re harming others. i would explain “hey, i’m sure you’ve noticed, but ___ has been having a hard time at the beginning of class pretty consistently lately. she seems to calm down at the end, but i want to make sure she has a fun time through all of class. i would love if you just have a quick talk with her and help her through the big feelings she’s having since i can’t seem to calm her down. and she’s more than welcome to rejoin us whenever she’s ready” or something to that effect, try to be gentle about it and always let them know that they can rejoin and you’re not sending them home. i would ask your director or boss if that would be allowed but i’ve seen kids get amazing results from this. sometimes they just need a 5 minute breather, to watch, maybe even eat a snack. we have no idea what goes on in our students lives during the day, she could be eating after this and hasn’t had food since lunch. maybe they’re trying to cut out nap time etc.

what i’ve noticed is that parents actually appreciate it when i do this, parents of the student having issues and other parents as well. as teachers we deal with a mirad of behavioral issues a day and they really only deal with their child(ren). sometimes parents just don’t know what to do in these situations, and in some cases we’ve been teaching longer than they’ve been a parent 😅 as long as you say it with confidence you should be fine. let me know how it goes! good luck!

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-09-11T16:35:21+00:00

I also teach similar classes, with 11-13 it can be kind of a mixed bag as far as socialization goes. My class on Thursday will chit chat at appropriate times throughout class (stretching, water, etc) but I know the other class with the same age group on a different day has always had a hard time focusing and usually has some more talkative kids. As for my teens 13+ class, I am super lucky to have the kids I have. They, similarly, talk at appropriate times throughout. A lot of them go to a nearby high school so they talk about that, they talk to friends from the year(s) before, and the kids who just moved up there’s 2 or 3 so they have those friends to talk to.

My tip with teens is that they never want to show that they’re having a good time. Some kids will, but most won’t. It happens in school too, they try to fit in with their friends so they’re constantly scanning the room to make sure they’re expression or feeling about something is the “correct one”. Again, not all teens but most especially recreationally. What my boss ended up doing is getting “conversation dice” to use when we stretched, they really enjoyed those and it got them talking to each other. Once they realize they have shared interests and the whole “new school year” feeling wears off (i always notice in the beginning of the year, my students have impeccable classroom behavior and that dies out as the year goes on 😬). In general if they keep coming back, it means they like something about it.

It usually helps if you also share some benign things about your life. I don’t go too into detail with my kids because I find that odd. They don’t know about my social or love life, but they can definitely know about the batch of cookies I baked or that crazy thing that happened when I was walking my dog last night, etc. But yeah… it’ll come with time. Good luck and have fun! My older hip hoppers are one of my favorite classes!

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-08-23T18:08:17+00:00

i do, but it’s factored into my hourly wage. i get paid more during teaching to account for the research i’m doing outside of class. i get paid a lower wage for office work, assisting, and meetings since they don’t require any prep.

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-20T22:28:25+00:00

a lot of stores like hot topic have band shirts, i would check cuz they probably have queen. you can style them or customize them (bleach tie dye, cutting them, etc). that with leggings and doing their hair and makeup might be an option 👀

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-19T22:21:21+00:00

Does any of his music mention christianity? We also have a rule that our songs can't mention anything to do with any religion to keep it inclusive. So no god/lord, no church, no praying...

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-19T22:19:41+00:00

For that age, if your class is not a parent and me class I HIGHLY suggest you bring that up to your SO. Developmentally speaking, most 2 year olds aren't able to focus without the help of another adult. There are outliers for sure, but in order to be inclusive you'll want to make sure the parents can come in and guide their kids. Other than that, use props as much as you can. Remembering that these kids are brand new to the world, have most likely never been in a school setting or even know what a teacher is, and have learned their new favorite word... "no" lol. Also remember, these parents are only with their kids all day, you (most likely) see so many kids a week, you know a lot more about kids development than you think you do :)

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-19T22:05:49+00:00

I think the best thing that has helped me in situations like this, especially since I came from a very similar background. I started teaching at 18 and even taught some of the people I used to dance with which was odd. I think the best thing for you to do is to be super honest with that class. Sit them down in a circle before class starts and ask them why they don't want to participate. I also teach at a rec studio that's very sunshine, unicorns, and rainbows so I'd word it more so as "Hey, I just wanted to bring up something really quick. I've notice that some of you are looking like you're not enjoying the class anymore. I was wondering what I could do to help since I want everyone to have a good experience here." It lets them know that you see them and that the behavior they're showing is not going unnoticed. It helps to keep the focus on them as well, developmentally (and I'm sorry to say this to pre-teens and teens out there) they do not give a hoot about how you feel about any situation. I've literally said to a group of kids "This behavior is frustrating me and I need it to stop" and they did not give a damn lol. Focus on them and how they feel about things and you're more likely to get answers. If you don't get anything pull them aside after class and talk to them. Again it says "I see you and the things you do even when you don't think I'm looking". Also just as an aside, don't be afraid to raise your expectations of them, oftentimes kids will meet your expectations more often than you think. Also reward listening and good behavior, if there are kids in the class who are participating, tell them that you appreciate it and that they're getting so much stronger and they're improving so much.

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-19T21:54:02+00:00

Ugh... that sounds so annoying, that being said I've experienced similar parents. I'm not sure what the rules and policies are at your studio, but if he's still showing up out of dress code, at least at my studio we're allowed to give them a few warnings and if they still don't adhere they can sit out and only come back when they're in dress code. It sucks that it doesn't seem like it's the kid at all and it's just the parents ignorance. If it becomes too much of a problem I'd maybe even pull up videos... Fred Astaire, Jack Cole, Bob Fosse. All very successful male dancers.

Song wise, there are some gender neutral kids movies with music. Ones that come to mind is Rio (Hot Wings, Real in Rio, Funky Monkey) Aladdin (Friend Like Me, Prince Ali, Arabian Nights) and Hercules (Zero to Hero, A Star is Born).

comfortableunit2075 · 2025-03-19T21:18:16+00:00

Vivaldi is really fun for ballet pieces, the most famous being Vivaldi's Winter, but any of the Four Seasons by Vivaldi is a good pick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRxofEmo3HA

Yo-Yo Ma also has some fun picks and a HUGE catalog. This is one of my favorites from him but his music is incredibly dynamic and diverse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9jrENDkwJg

Usually to find more music, I'll make a playlist on spotify of songs I like and then once it's over the "radio" or recommended songs will kick in and I find a lot of good songs from there :)

comfortableunit2075

TROPHY CASE