Thread: Sustitute teacher etiquette?

I did a search to see if this had been discussed before, but I couldn't find anything. Recently, I covered for my teacher for a lesson and a half (beginners and intermediate) since she was out of town until late that evening. She's pretty much all about the bouncing butt, which is not how I would have preferred learn, but has always been a one-teacher town and she's a lovely woman. When planning my lesson-and-a-half, I first considered doing a completely different warm-up than the one she usually runs us through, for variation, but in the end I just did a couple of small modifications and a conditioning addition for the beginners. I also did the bouncing butt thing (though for the beginners, only for two songs or so), even though in my opinion, what my fellow students mostly need is drilling.

This got me wondering, is there some kind of established etiquette for substitute bellydance teachers? Would using a different teaching format than the one the regular teacher uses be horribly impolite, or just possibly very confusing for the students? I'm going to be the one substituting when needed in future as well, and I don't know whether to try to be my teacher or attempt to widen my fellow students' perspectives a little (I'm pretty much the only one who has even heard of tribal fusion, for one thing, and counting would be an entirely foreign concept).

If you are going to sub for any teacher, I would suggest you ask for her/his guidance re a class plan as well as a list of student names. You can certainly suggest some of your ideas but be prepared to follow through on whatever class plan/structure the regular teacher requests. He/she may be very open to a different warm-up or your introducing new concepts in class, you'll never know unless you ask!

Good luck :)


Khalida

I'm not a dance teacher, but have been a longtime dance student & I've both experienced subs & been asked to sub on several occasions. Also, I am a teacher (of adults) in my non-dance life. So, based on this, here is my opinion.

A sub should try to stick to the teacher's format & curriculum as much s/he is able to, unless s/he specifically discusses alternatives with the instructor.

When I've had subs for my (non-dance) classes, I've left lesson plans, because I want the students to be able to continue with what they've been learning & not "lose" a day. I wouldn't appreciate a sub teaching them something different, that doesn't jive with my long-term plans, unless it couldn't be helped. Even with a sub who didn't have the right expertise, I'd try to suggest a pertinent movie or readings. As an instructor, I have goals for my students & I structure my courses so as to help them achieve those goals. A sub is not there just to babysit & do whatever s/he likes. So, IMO, you were wise to avoid making too many changes.

That said, in dance, change can be nice, as long as the instructor is okay with it. For instance, our tribal instructor once had another teacher sub & give us a taste of "Gypsy-Rom." That's because there isn't another tribal instructor in our area. But the instructor & the sub discussed this & our instructor let us know about this in advance.

In your case, it sounds a bit like you think you could do a better job than your teacher, & you want to use subbing to fill in the gaps you perceive in your classmates' learning. I don't think this is appropriate. If you truly think that you could do better, then maybe you should start your own classes.

IMO, you should ask your teacher what moves/skills/topics she wants you to cover, but I don't think you have to mimic her style exactly. You can teach in a way that feels comfortable to you. But you should follow her curriculum, unless she approves you doing something different with her students.

I don't know why you think the students should learn about tribal. Even though I study & perform both Egyptian & tribal styles, I don't see the need to teach about tribal to a group of people who have not signed up for tribal style classes.

I once went to an art class that was advertised as a drawing & painting class. However, the instructor chose to use other media, such as clay, as well, because that's what he liked. I was annoyed, because I had already taken a class in which we dabbled in a variety of media, & I had decided that I wanted to focus on drawing & painting. That's why I signed up for that class. I think your teacher's students have a right to receive the style of instruction they signed up for. Now, some might not care, & some might enjoy a change, but it's not up to you to decide that they need to learn something about tribal. If you want to do this, get the teacher's & the students' agreement first.

That's MHO.

I get the impression from what you write here that you don't feel the teacher you're subbing for is a particularly good teacher. And you're not another dance teacher coming in to sub. When you're not subbing you're a student, within that same class.

In terms of substituting etiquette, managing that situation is your biggest challenge. I sounds like a potential mine field. Not saying it can't be managed, but only if you can be very disciplined about what you express to your fellow students. If the teacher came to feel you were undermining her authority, even in subtle ways, she would surely consider that a betrayal of her trust. Bear in mind that in asking you, as a student in the class, to sub for her, she is honoring you.

Rosette

The best bet is to always ask the teacher if she has any specific requests about what she wants you to cover. If she has a request, you should honor it. If she says, "Whatever you like," even then you should try to be compatible with her customary class material.

If you've been studying with her long enough to be her go-to person when she needs a sub, then you should also know in general terms what sort of material she wants her students to learn. You don't necessarily need to use the same pedagogy techniques as her, but you should try to fit with the general style of technique, music selection, etc. as her. You should try to offer something compatible with what she teaches, NOT something that clashes. For example, if she typically teaches Egyptian style, you shouldn't take it upon yourself to introduce tribal unless she explicitly asks you to. You should try to help students continue their growth in the direction she has established, rather than distract them with something that doesn't "fit".

That said, you don't necessarily have to precisely mimic her pedagogy. For example, if she usually uses "follow the bouncing butt", it would probably be okay to spend a bit of time on drills or more structured movement in the same dance style. You could select moves that are representative of her style to create a combination, then have people drill the combination. Then create/drill another combination, then put them together, etc. But ultimately you'll want the students to feel as though what you taught can be plugged into everything else they've learned so far.

I agree with what others have said. The proper etiquette on your part is to ask *every time* what she wants you to cover. If you are a regular student in her classes you should be able to pick up and run her class without interruption.
Its a great chance for you to start thinking about how & what you would teach, when & if you decide to start your own classes but is not the right venue for you to start up your method and recruit students.

If your teacher says, take it & run, have fun and try something new then teach the class your way but refrain from talking about your methods as better, more comprehensive et cetera.
When I ask someone to sub, I ask someone who's already teaching. I tell them, run it like a mini-workshop & let students know this is your style. I always give my subs a lesson plan and playlist, class roster, and overview of what we've been working on BUT I know that unless they are a regular in my class, they probably won't know what all of my notes mean.

Hah, dear me, did I really come off as that high on hubris? Perhaps I should have gone on for a bit longer to give a clear picture. I think too many years at university has conditioned me to always write everything like a critical analysis. =P

So to clear things up: I have nothing against my teacher's methods as such. All I meant to say was that her teaching style doesn't suit my learning style, which is why I have a natural inclination to want to change things up.

Paying for and traveling to see a particular teacher because you like their style and being surprised by a (possibly unannounced) substitute can be quite disturbing to students to begin with, so I might add that in addition to lesson planning and familiarity with class flow/expectations as stated above, an explanation and a proper introduction goes without saying…..LOL besides being polite and not rude and condescending to students that you may or may not have been previously acquainted with. Although elementary, this is part of proper etiquette as well. I have had the unfortunate experience with all of the above, and my teacher promised to never have that particular person sub again. Secondly, if you see that the students are bored and not enjoying the lesson, it is important to recognize they are paying for a service at the level they are accustomed to, and it is unfair to be wasting their time.

I lost a dear belly sistah (and a mega bhuzzer) who behaved very badly as a sub. And to that person, I say: even though you may feel that you are doing a favor to sub for a teacher who has taken ill, you need to realize that if you are walking into a situation where you have already created a competitive spirit coupled with BDBS of your own doing, you must be prepared to step up to the plate with diplomacy and professionalism as Rosette says, “you are representing another person who has entrusted you with this honor” as THIS is truly the bigger picture as it is not about you at all. TRUE kindness is never mistaken for weakness, and YOU needed to be “nice” and apologize to everyone for your outburst.

Further, and in general, it is best to decline if you are not in a good mood or don’t feel up to the challenge, because it is the students who will suffer as well as your reputation. Beginners deserve a qualified teacher too, but don’t jump into teaching an intermediate or advanced class if you are not prepared or have the necessary skill.

Everyone is gonna have a different perspective depending on their experience, etc.
For you, it's more of a feel of how you are, your skill set (teaching is not the same as dancing, and viceversa, some people are great at both ;), and your relationship with your instructor.
I live in a many instructor city so it may be different for us, we usually try to get someone who's a similar style and that our students will like. So good personality is a must. :) Other than that, we usually tell each other what level the students are at and anything else we may feel important. A lot of the time we're happy to get someone to sub for us who we can trust to show up on time and will be good for our students, so we're not sticklers for you have to do this or that.
That said, being that your situation is a bit different cause you are the student in this class, just let her know if it'd be ok if you explore other variations in addition to what she regularly covers.
It's nice to get a sub sometimes cause we all get new perspectives, from students and teachers ;)
I agree, she's honoring you by asking you to sub, and that's a nice thing to do. If she's a cool person (you'll know this ;)) I'm sure she'll be open to it and will not feel threatened. You'll also have to figure out how your fellow students will feel about it. Always think of who you're serving, it may be cool for you but how open are they to variations? You can try a little at a time and if they don't like it, then you can stick to the regular format.
OH and yeah, not everyone's gonna like you, some people really like that specific instructor, don't take it personally. Also, never undermine who you're covering for. I've used horror stories, so yes, respect is very important.
Good luck subbing! (It's not always easy but that's how you start out :)) Sometimes I also use humor, like: don't worry, your regular instructor will be back next week so you just have to tolerate me for today! :P

Originally Posted by Jing

Hah, dear me, did I really come off as that high on hubris? Perhaps I should have gone on for a bit longer to give a clear picture. I think too many years at university has conditioned me to always write everything like a critical analysis. =P

So to clear things up: I have nothing against my teacher's methods as such. All I meant to say was that her teaching style doesn't suit my learning style, which is why I have a natural inclination to want to change things up.

A little BUT you also came across as someone who knows what you want to learn, how you like to learn, and what others might benefit from. In other words...you came across as someone who's probably ready to start taking the first steps towards teaching. It sounds like your instructor also feels that way about you or she wouldn't give you the bump to her "go-to" sub choice. You have a great chance to move up and advance, how you go about that will set the tone for how your teacher & fellow dancers respond.
Good luck! Keep asking questions, and learning from your experience-- a good teacher is also a reflective learner.

This just came up for me last night. I subsituted for a friend. She got injured and couldn't teach. I did stop by her house to find out what her students were learning but I quickly realized that my beginner class is much more advanced than hers. I could have taught her stuff in about 1/3 of the time. In addition, I didn't have her music so I couldnt really do her "choreography" which was just a repetition of the basic steps she was using. In addition, our dance styles are totally different. She's right foot, I'm left, she's flat foot, I'm on the balls, etc...

I ended up teaching the class the way I would my first day class beginners. I covered all the steps she was teaching, but I also included a warm up and cool down and some other steps as well. (She did say it was all right to do my own stuff as well.) I figured I did her a better service giving her students a good learning experience vs. trying to do things like her when our styles are just so different. I did explain to the students up front that we had different styles but in the end what we did was basically the same. They got it.

I agree. If you are subbing you should stick to the teaching style and lesson plan of the normal teacher - unless you have discussed alternatives. Even then some students don't like change - but one off shouldn't be a real problem.

However, maybe you could get into an informal discussion with your teacher about learning styles etc. Don't make it too heavy - maybe invite her over for a coffee.

It's interesting to get a glimpse of what bellydance classes are like outside this little city. Things are very casual here, as it were. No one's trying to become a professional - all the students are dancing for the fun of it. My teacher doesn't really have a lesson plan, short of getting to the end of the semester's choreography for intermediates and above. What gets covered depends on what people have an easy or hard time with, or whether anyone has a particular request (last semester, one lady asked about Bollywood, so we had half a lesson on that). Also, my teacher is anything but purist - it's all bellydance. Her style is mostly Egyptian, but she'll throw in any movement she feels goes with the music (including tai chi, once). Hence, there's no curriculum for me to follow as a substitute, or any entirely definite style to stick to. Just a fairly loose lesson structure and teaching format. I guess this situation might be rather unusual, judging by everyone's responses so far.

Not to hijack my own thread, but is having a set curriculum usually the done thing, or is there a regional difference, or different trends within different styles...? I studies with a couple of other teachers before moving here, and they were a bit more strict about different styles, but I can't recall if there was any clear curriculum (again, apart from getting through a choreography).

I would imagine that it is different based on the teacher's style and focus. I do have a curriculum and I revise it as needed for specific classes or topics, but some students may not even realize that I have one because I don't talk about it much other than to let them know what we will be covering next and why. I also give topic handouts at the beginning of most new topics, so students can follow along and keep notes on the things we will be covering for that time period.

Some teachers prefer a more structured plan (like me) and others have a general idea but want to let their class go through it more organically. I don't think either is a bad thing, just different approaches. There are probably some teachers out there with no plan at all, but I haven't met any of them thus far.

Originally Posted by Jing

It's interesting to get a glimpse of what bellydance classes are like outside this little city. Things are very casual here, as it were. No one's trying to become a professional - all the students are dancing for the fun of it. My teacher doesn't really have a lesson plan,
<snip>
Not to hijack my own thread, but is having a set curriculum usually the done thing, or is there a regional difference, or different trends within different styles...?

It isn't about whether the students intend to go professional but whether or not the teacher is professional. Teaching isn't about turning up each week and seeing what happens. It doesn't have to be detailed but to be teaching as opposed organizing a space for students and taking their money you have to know what you want to cover. Yes, you'll adjust the plan on the fly as needed - that too is part of the skill of teaching - but to just wander about week after week is not teaching.

Personally, my lesson plans range from very detailed ones with objectives, music etc and more loose ones that list a set of skills or knowledge, a timeframe, resources, and approaches. In this city, I taught this method to another teacher who in turn taught it to many other teachers in her school. So here most, but not all, do have a plan and a target.

For many years I pushed for formal teacher training for all belly dance teachers in New Zealand. In other cities in NZ & Oz I have met many other teachers who do have training - and many who don't - either through lack of awareness or sheer laziness.

I've done a fair bit of subbing in my time and each time is different, sometimes if it's at late notice I just have to do my own thing but I make it clear that the reason they are not doing the regular is because of the emergency situation. However, lesson plan or not I always spend 5 minutes at the start, introducing myself to the students and explaining my style and influences. I also explain the difference in terminology between teachers and styles and encourage students to ask questions if they are unsure about what I am doing/talking about. If I know the choreography I quite often let the students tell me what they want to go over rather than try to add to things and risk getting them wrong. Most students and teachers appreciate this if it's just one class. If it is for more than one class I have to get a better idea of what the teacher wants and make notes. I do take it as a case by case thing though. Oh and no matter what the other teacher teaches I do a warm up, stretches and warm down as I feel that is an absolute must for an dance class and don't want to risk injury to anyone for any reason.

By following these simple rules, I have not had one problem in the 13+ years I have been subbing for other teachers and am actually a sub of choice for many.

I've taught weekly classes for 15 years before I started to wind down so I don't teach regularly anymore. However I do a fair amount of subbing for people-which I enjoy.
In my experience people usually want me to do my own thing but I do always ask. having said that, i do Egyptian style and nobody would ever ask me to do any other kind of class.