Julia's 3rd Visit to BGCP

By my third visit to the Boys & Girls Club of the Peninsula, I had already gotten a sense of how the program worked and what I needed to do to help out. I’ve been assisting or teaching dance classes at my dance studio since I was about 10, so I thought that this would be an easy endeavor. However, teaching dance classes at the Boys and Girls Club has proven to not be the same as my previous experiences. When I’m teaching dance at my studio, the kids all want to be in class and are ready to listen to me; they’ve already learned the basics of dance from teachers before me. At the Boys and Girls Club, the kids haven’t ever had the opportunity to gain the same foundation, so for the first couple of visits, I didn’t really know what to do. I had to shift my expectations and shift the way I taught. I didn’t realize that simple details (like what music I played) made a difference in how receptive the kids were to learn. A lot of the kids in my dance class don’t necessarily want to be there; they have to take an elective and dance seemed like the least of all evils (I teach class on the concrete outdoors...). So, finding ways to make sure they don’t resent dance, but still making sure that they participate is pretty difficult. But, I’m enjoying the learning experience (and being able to stretch my creative educational thinking skills!) and am excited to build more connections with the kids!