Thread: teaching thru non-profit mentoring program, lots of questions!

i'm currently mentoring high school girls through a non-profit organization. we recently had a meeting on nutrition and fitness, and i did a super short dance class. the girls loved it and asked if would teach them. i mentioned this to the non-profit folks, and they suggested i teach through their organization.

most of the girls come from low-income families. many of them are the children or grandchildren of farm laborers, and many of them will be the first in their family to go to college. they live in a small town, in an agricultural community. i really want to make this work for me, while still being financial feasible for the non-profit and the girls.

so here's my giant list of questions:

what should i charge the non-profit for teaching per class?

what should the girls be expected to pay per class?

the program might only be twice a month. is this too infrequent?

would you cap the number of girls in the class?

looking for advice on teaching in a multi-purpose space (no mirrors, vinyl flooring, loud and echo-y)

i like the idea of having a video/presentation at the start of each class. their idea of bellydance is 'shakira' so i think their exposure to bd is limited. thoughts?

anyone ever assigned dance homework to teeangers? do they actually do it?

thank you bhuzzers!

what should i charge the non-profit for teaching per class?
no matter where the girls are coming from financially, you need to treat this as your job/business. Nonprofits do have budgets & funding too. I'm NOT saying take advantage of that, but set your price based on what you need to earn- include all the expense considerations you would take into account if you were doing the class yourself- for example, I know my minimum that I need to make for a class, and I know what I make if the class sells out- whether you choose to set your prices at that minimum, cost covering plus a little rate or somewhere in between is up to you.

what should the girls be expected to pay per class?
If the nonprofit is paying you, they can charge whatever they want (or offer it free if they have the funding to do that)- unless you agree to a percentage (which I would not recommend in this situation if you want decent pay) you don't have to concern yourself with this aspect.
the program might only be twice a month. is this too infrequent?
It's not really conducive to getting everyone in regularly, but it's not bad. I prefer either weekly or monthly- people just forget to come with biweekly classes.

would you cap the number of girls in the class?
I base this largely on the size of the facility. I prefer to teach 10 or less- they get better instruction that way- but if the nonprofit needs to get more in for funding reasons and the space allows it, *and everyone is behaving* you can take it as it goes.

looking for advice on teaching in a multi-purpose space
I actually like teaching without mirrors- but it means you can't turn your back on them, so you either have to get used to teaching on the opposite foot or emphasizing that it doesn't matter as much which side they are working at a given time. I like teaching in a circles, so if I say go right, everyone is going counterclockwise. Noise- ugh. I have my own head mic, you might see if anyone has one you can borrow.

i like the idea of having a video/presentation at the start of each class. their idea of bellydance is 'shakira' so i think their exposure to bd is limited. thoughts?
if you do this, I would do it afterwards rather than before. On the otherhand, you are being their live in demo too, so the vids may not be necessary.

anyone ever assigned dance homework to teeangers? do they actually do it?
my adults don't even do homework half the time...

i think kids might be more willing to do homework than adults. after graduation there's sortta the feel that you're free from having to take work home with you, and that it's the mark of a work-a-holic (which some consider a good thing). as a kid tho, it's more normal. then again, they're kids and a lot of kids take a mile when they get an inch, so they might not if they don't feel like there's consequences.

i send out emails everyweek after class w/ short articles and youtube clips organized around a theme. if they have internet access maybe you could shoot out a quick one with some youtube in it to give them inspiration, accurate exposure to BD, and a reminder to practice between classes. some stock reminders about what they should be paying attention to technique-wise along with the youtube (ie, remember neutral pelvis and to avoid arching your back during the hip circle. chests up even if you're working with the hips) it'd also free up your class time to dance, which you'd want to take advantage of for those things that you need to be together to do.

someone mentioned that for teens the mirrors are counter-productive because they get into a different mental space, body issues and social time. so the circle might be more helpful for this situation. but i've never taught kids outside of that audience-participation mini-lesson thing, so i can't corroborate that.

Lara, thanks for the your input! regarding what to charge, my expenses would be limited. my time would be my only expense. i'm definitely taking into account the extra hours for planning and prep. but i also don't want to be grossly undercutting. but there aren't any bd teachers within 30 miles, so i'm the first in this area. so, i'm sort of going round and round in my own head! teaching in the round sounds like a great idea, must work on that...

fariha, i love the email idea! will definitely use that. and i think they might be do homework if i remind them in the email. also, good point about the mirrors. they seemed really focused in the quickie class, probably because they were only looking at me and not themselves lol!