> lets talk about funding!
> I have completed a Masters thesis on the potential of integrating new
> terchnology into secondary dance curriculum, local and global
> perspectives.... and funding was the main issue raised by dance teachers
> in South Australia... it is an issue, no one should be surprised by
> this!
> Mary-Lou
I've also just finished a course in secondary dance education, and the lack
of resources is a big problem for dance teachers. At the same time it's
come to my attention that thanks to the U.S. Vice President more and more
schools are getting "wired" and being given really astonishing
equipment...which they then use to do word processing. There is a lack of
people to teach conceptual rather than application-specific curricula, which
often becomes obsolete before the course is finished.
However...in the course of study for a dance/tech type degree, I and several
others have gained skills which have enabled us to acquire jobs in the "real
world" that pay significantly higher than your average college
income...which means we get to work less, which means we have time to pursue
our art habit.
Couldn't it be put forth to Educational Institutions that the integration of
a dance/tech curriculum will teach concepts and processes that are useful in
many aspects of "tech" careers? I've gone in a straight line from writing
stringers for papers through videography to CDROM design to the web, all
with skills I gained in "dance" and "art" classes. It seems like a
presentation of the skills that can be acquired through this kind of
activity would help convince Committees and the powers that be to fund more
of a dance curriculum.
Of course, you and I know that there is a concrete benefit to simply
learning to move. If only such fuzzy logic made sense to the rest of the
bureaucracy...
Jeff