Thread: Relating theory and practice?

I was taking part in a festival a few years back and was listening to one of the international (Western) teachers talking about the history of the dance.
I was very alarmed to hear this teacher informing people of what I consider to be an 'un-evidenced fantasy' theory.

Talking to some of the participants later, they told me they enjoyed the workshop and she was indeed a good teacher. I raised the issue of what I had heard and was told by the participants that they 'ignored that bit'.

So, here are some questions,

How much do we believe what we are told in workshops by a teacher?

If something does not sit right, what do we do?

Another situation recently was a teacher contacted me to ask my opnion on some information she had given out in a workshop. I answered that I agreed with her before she told me a student at the workshop claimed the information giving was incorrect and had stated this in an anonymous evaluation form.

For me, this situation is totally annoying as these issues can be questioned and discussed at the end of the workshop to everyones satisfaction. The unfortunate thing was, the teacher had indeed (to my knowledge) been correct in what she was sharing.

What are peoples thoughts on these situations? what is the best course of action for all concerned?

I tend to hold my tongue when I blatantly disagree with a visiting instructor (which is rare, I am thankful to say!) The last time this happened, it was on a matter of sports science technique where I think the instructor was simply working on out of date informations, but it wasn't going to maim anyone.
As far as being believed by students when we are presenting information- I am always citing sources for just about anything. I do ask about source material when I run across new little tidbits, usually at the end of class, and I think everyone benefits from this. I don't know why anyone should believe what I say just because I say it, and I am more than willing to update when I get new information, so citing sources and asking questions is the easiest way for me to communicate. It's habit at this point.

Every time someone opens her or his mouth, it is a battle to determine whether what they say is part of the body of truth, or whether an agreed-upon truth even exists for the subject. I think we've all run across teachers who introduce new topics in ways that sound fishy, blatantly contradict what others have already told us, or legitimately challenge us to rethink whether what we've previously learned is right. There's certainly an assumption that someone who is traveling around and teaching workshops should be a more reliable source of information than a low-level, garden-variety teacher, but this isn't always true. When you do encounter a higher-level teacher who appears to be passing on misleading or misinformed ideas, out of deference to their position in the community, it seems tactless to blurt out that you think they're wrong in front of the class, but if they have a Q&A section to their lesson, I think gently addressing the conflict of information should be fair game. I definitely don't have a problem with raising questions privately or off line. It's lovely to want to be considerate of people's egos and never embarrass or confront them, but the academic process is smothered by too much deference. You cannot have an open exchange and examination of ideas if no one feels free to speak their minds out of politeness.

If you want to teach, you should be prepared for the occasional confrontation of opposing information, and if that offends you personally, then perhaps teaching is not the right job for you. Being an expert on one subject doesn't guarantee immunity from ignorance in others. Teachers shouldn't be afraid to dispatch questions that they can't answer with sincere promises to do more research and subsequent follow up. They also should be humble enough to admit that they don't know everything when caught in error. And every dancer should be realistic enough to recognize that just because someone pronounced something as truth (especially if it's an unknown stranger pontificating online, and, yes, I'm including myself here), it doesn't mean that what they say is automatically true.

Finally, one has to acknowledge that sometimes there is more than one "right" answer, and sometimes "facts" are really "opinions" or "preferences." Middle Easterners don't think as a monolithic block. What looks like proper dancing to one Egyptian may look like garbage to another. It's all about finding a consensus and leaving wiggle room for the gray areas.

One of the solutions is to hope and make sure people go to different workshops and hear different instructors. This way they are aware of all the information, both right and wrong, around us. And when they have heard plenty of contradicting tidbits, they'll start questioning, analysing and researching themselves.

When I tell my students a piece of information that I know has different opinions to it, I usually try to also tell about those other opinions. However, I always state, which version I stick to and why. This way they'll learn from the start that there is no universal truth and they should always consider other opinions.

Should I hear a bit of information that I don't agree with at a lecture, I will not question it publically. It is the instructor's right to teach by his or her own convictions. However, I might take it up in a diplomatic way if there is a discussion section to the workshop. Also, I will probably discuss it afterwards with other workshop participants and other dancers, just to see what their views are on the topic.

Originally Posted by Safran

Should I hear a bit of information that I don't agree with at a lecture, I will not question it publically. It is the instructor's right to teach by his or her own convictions. However, I might take it up in a diplomatic way if there is a discussion section to the workshop. Also, I will probably discuss it afterwards with other workshop participants and other dancers, just to see what their views are on the topic.

Maybe I am in the minority here, but if I taught something considered controversial by the audience I think I would rather be included in the discussion than be "spared my feelings" and have other people discussing how wrong I am behind my back. There are dance communities in some areas (especially off the beaten track, and too small to host regular workshops with top-quality teachers) that are still extremely inbred and misinformed despite improvements in technology and information distribution. An outsider with contradictory information might actually be right, despite the majority of natives who think otherwise. It's also possible that the outsider represents one of a variety of reasonably valid positions--and simply a position that hasn't been presented to this group before. If someone wants to have a conversation about the validity of what I'm teaching, I'd like to be a part of it. If I am wrong, I want to know so I can correct myself for the future, and if I'm not, the other side needs the clarification of why I feel justified in contradicting them.

Tourbeau, your response reminded me of one of my favorite quotes coming out of the 'rally to restore sanity'

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbddc/5129397091/
I LOVE being right so much... I change my mind when I'm wrong.

(tho, as you stated, there are many issues that don't have a definitive "right" answer right now! I love learning more- it just adds to the depth & richness of this dance!)

My behavior can vary, depending on the situation.

My most likely reaction would be to take the instructor aside privately at the first opportunity and ask in politely-questioning tone of voice: "I was surprised to hear you say ___, because I've found something different in my own research. Could you point me to the sources that led you to conclude what you did?"

This way, if the other person DID have a legitimate source for their info, I can advance my own knowledge by learning about it and exploring it for myself. But if they did NOT, then they'll squirm, and (hopefully) think twice before continuing to "teach" it elsewhere.

If there is a question-and-answer section to the class, I have sometimes asked, "How would you respond to people who disagree with what you said and believe that ___ is actually true?" Again, I try to keep the tone of voice and body language in a non-aggressive, wanting-to-learn mode. Because, again, maybe this person DOES have a valid reason for believing what she does, and maybe I'll learn something.

One time I emailed a dancer who is quite well known on the workshop circuit about something on her web site that I knew to be incorrect. In this case, the information was easily-proven fact (but, fact that requires a bit of digging to find) regarding a 20th-century Egyptian dancer, rather than ambiguous "origin of belly dance" stuff. I politely said that I had a lot of respect for her, and I knew she'd want to ensure that her site was as accurate as possible. I then offered the correct information, and mentioned the source where I found the info. She thanked me for the info, and corrected her web site.

Some of the better instructors I've studied with have made a point to say, "In my experience, this is how it is." When I hear that phrase, it's my clue to be sure and research the subject a little more, to see if that experience is shared by other instructors/dancers.

Dancing in Egypt gave many instructors a much different experience from that of others who danced in Lebanon. And dancing in Egypt in the 80s is probably a different experience than dancing there now.

When an instructor makes a questionable statement, I REALLY wish people would ask about it, because her experience may be MUCH different than anyone else's, and she may have truly original material to share. Or she may be full of it. Either way, it's a little more elucidating to see WHY they hold that particular theory.

Originally Posted by *Shira*

If there is a question-and-answer section to the class, I have sometimes asked, "How would you respond to people who disagree with what you said and believe that ___ is actually true?" Again, I try to keep the tone of voice and body language in a non-aggressive, wanting-to-learn mode. Because, again, maybe this person DOES have a valid reason for believing what she does, and maybe I'll learn something.

This is good - it will get the message through without being malicious towards the instructor.

Tourbeau, I do understand your point. However, I tend to be a conflict avoider by my nature... So I would be too scared to offend and/or undermine an instructor by either making my argument in public or by approaching them after the workshop. I can do it with the instructors in my region whom I know well and whose reaction I can predict. But with instructors I know less it can be tricky.

[QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

Maybe I am in the minority here, but if I taught something considered controversial by the audience I think I would rather be included in the discussion than be "spared my feelings" and have other people discussing how wrong I am behind my back.

I definately come into this category.

As a teacher, I usually try to avoid saying 'this is wrong and this is right'.
I generally do not give out information which i have not bounced back and forth in my brain a million times.. however, there maybe someone somewhere who can blow my theory and I am open to that. I would much rather hear it, chew on it or discuss it for all to learn.

If someone wants to have a conversation about the validity of what I'm teaching, I'd like to be a part of it. If I am wrong, I want to know so I can correct myself for the future, and if I'm not, the other side needs the clarification of why I feel justified in contradicting them.

I also think the anonymous feedback situation has its downside for this same reason.

An email address could be available which only the host can see, this way the info can be forwarded and a response is possible by the teacher without ever knowing who it is.

The best solution would have been to respond in the class, but not everyone feels comfortable with this and some teachers are extremely defensive. I have witnessed this myself first hand and this too is frustrating.

After reading some of the responses, I feel like I need to explain a bit more about what I meant when I wrote, "...the other side needs the clarification of why I feel justified in contradicting them." Everybody likes to be right, but I wasn't talking about being right just for the sake of it. I was alluding to the particular relationship between customer service and teaching. If you're providing an educational experience, and your students aren't satisfied with it (in this case, they think you're full of it and feeding them bogus information to the point that they're discussing your competence behind your back), as a teacher, you have an ethical obligation to fix this situation. It's your job to rectify their ignorance when they're wrong, or correct yourself if they know something you don't and you're wrong.

I'm a big proponent of open dialogue. People shouldn't be jerks about each others' mistakes and misconceptions, and if students catch you being stupid, then it shouldn't be a problem to step back and say, "Okay, then let's learn more about this together."