Flowers or Foxes
Bougainvillea in Calpe Spain April 2008
Foxes in the Gardens outside the Studio
A question, that a friend of mine, asked her 3 year old today was, “Which do you prefer, flowers or foxes?” “Both,” he said. I looked at this small child, astounded and turned to my friend and said, ‘now, that’s profound for a 3 year old.’
On contemplation was it really? I started to wonder at how we are nurtured and encouraged to be all that we can possibly be. Both of everything, enjoy ourselves through play and experimentation. That’s before the rules of strengths and weaknesses start to cloud our vision once we start school. Approaches to playing to our weaknesses as opposed to our strengths become so embedded in our psyche that it seems to be a constant challenge to try and get our weaknesses right.
Are our learning styles at the forefront of national and international curriculum’s do you think? Or do you meet learning styles for the first time when doing a module at college or University as I did?
This month, I have been back and forth on this roller coaster ride of strengths and weaknesses and discovering the beauty of how happy I am and least stressed when I am clearly doing what I love as opposed to what bores me to complete tears and frustration!
Spending time trying to figure out complexities and solving problems, is something most of us can do and I love it when its immersed in Dance and Wellness – I’m invigorated, passionate and excited when participating in what I love. However, learning something new is great if it invigorates and sparks my strengths, but when it pushes the weakness button, then my mind starts to wonder off into a world of its own that I’m lucky if I’ve heard a 5th of what someone is trying to explain to me or teach me.
This has made me consider the variety of people that I meet on a daily basis and the number of clients whom I have taught. When I teach each person individually, I aim to be sensitive to a variety of learning approaches.
Some people are visual and so will lift their heads when lying down on the mats in my studio, some are auditory and can stay lying down, with eyes closed and just listen to the sound of my voice.While others respond magically to touch and others to visual imagery and the use of metaphor and simile. Being able to use a combination of all these in teaching is so important.
When teaching a group class, how do I then make room for all of these requirements? By trying to accommodate a variety of learning styles. Its amazing how swiftly one can move through teaching an exercise whilst drawing on all of the senses and learning styles, just like poetry in motion.
There is no right or wrong answer, as I discovered today, whilst lunching with my friend and her 3 year old son. Both, he said. He is so right. The wisdom inherent in those words just got me reeling and responding with all my strength!
Enjoy the weeks ahead!
“Suffering the consequence of living according to someone else’s wishes doesn’t make any sense; rather you need to oppose the external opinions that try to force you to be what you’re not intended to be.”
Wayne Dyer (Your Ultimate Calling)
