Did you know that educators lead the way for dancer mental health? As dance teachers, our influence is pretty great, which means we have a great responsibility to those we teach. Read the post below to learn why educators lead the way for dancer mental health and how you can be sure you are leading your dancers in the right direction.
If you’ve read any of Danscend’s articles, attended any of our workshops, or utilized any of our resources, you know how much we love to remind dance educators of the tremendous influence you have on your students. All teachers are influencers. Whether they’re in front of the classroom teaching algebra or in front of a dance studio teaching pliés, teachers have a massive impact on the students they instruct. They are potentially the most influential members of our society. But the most important thing they teach probably isn’t what you think.
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recent study in the University of Chicago Journal of Political Economy reveals that, “Teachers affect a variety of student outcomes through their influence on both cognitive and noncognitive skill.” The study goes on to say that, while it is important that teachers instruct their students in whatever subject they’re teaching, it’s more important that they instruct them in what we would call the “softer skills” of life.
Through studying 570,000 kids in North Carolina schools, the author of the study, C. Kirabo Jackson, found that teaching students how to cope with today’s world is more important than teaching them math or dance.
Youki Terada says in Edutopia that this study found that teachers have almost twice as much impact on students’ noncognitive skills, “which include motivation and the ability to adapt to new situations, as well as self-regulation.”
In short, teachers teach more than just their subject. And the things that can’t be demonstrated in a standardized test or on a stage are much more important.
Teachers shape young people’s lives. Oftentimes much more than the young people’s parents. According to the
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, “During the school year, children generally spend more time interacting with their teachers than with their parents.”
And dance teachers’ influence over their students can often be even greater. J.H.A. Van Rossum published
an article in the Journal for the Education of the Gifted entitled The Dance Teacher: The Ideal Case and Daily Reality that says, “the impact of the dance teacher on the career of a young dancer can be decisive.”
Dance teachers are important and influential. While most teachers don’t take their jobs lightly, the climate of today’s youth is changing rapidly.
Young people today struggle with anxiety, social phobias, depression, and the mounting pressure by society and social media to be a consistently ideal version of themselves.
According to the Youth Mental Health First Aid
website, “One in five youth will experience a mental health challenge at some point during their life. 17.1 million youth under the age of 18 have or have had a psychiatric disorder — more than the number of children with cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined.” And educators are on the front lines of this mental health crisis.
Dancers are both artists and athletes. They operate at an extremely high level of skill, but they are also often still developing. It is the dance educator’s duty to make sure to care for the mental wellness of these young people in today’s volatile climate. The dance studio should be a safe place to explore, a place to grow, and a place that inspires a genuine and supportive community. Unfortunately, oftentimes, it isn’t. The good news? You have the incredible opportunity to make sure it is through the way you lead, after all, educators lead the way for dancer mental health.
Does your leadership in the dance studio create a culture that supports dancer mental wellness? Here are a few ways to ensure that it does:
1. Start the conversation.
Forbes magazine reported that after the CEO of a services organization shared a personal story with the company’s employees regarding how both he and his family struggled with mental health, a poll showed that afterward, 68% of employees stated that they spoke to someone about their mental wellness for the first time.
That’s amazing, isn’t it?
The stigma that surrounds mental health and wellness, while slowly fading, is still very much alive. Help break it for your dancers through your leadership by sharing with them what your struggles as a dancer were and still are, as appropriate, and inspire them to share too.
2. Ask questions.
Another easy way to cultivate a studio culture through your leadership that promotes mental wellness is to simply ask your dancers where they need more support. In order to effectively lead and improve the culture of your studio, it’s imperative to understand where dancers feel under-supported and/or what makes them feel most stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. Once you have this information, then strategize ways to lend more support.
Encouraging open communication and creating checkpoints like this for your dancers can go a long way in making the studio feel like a healthy place to be.
Your dancers are looking to you to learn how to care for themselves physically and mentally when it comes to the dance world. And chances are, if they feel like you deem mental training and wellness important to their development as dancers, and more importantly as humans, then they will too.
3. Introduce mental training.
We know that the mind holds tremendous power over our ability to physically perform. How are you helping your dancers utilize mental training?
One simple way to do so is to get your students into the habit of reflection. Have them journal either before or after class, ask them to share some insights with their peers, or have reflection check points built into your curriculum to allow dancers to start this habit. If they are going to successfully utilize the power of their mind, we as dance educators need to help them develop the ability to reflect.
When it comes to the mental wellness of dancers, teachers can be a part of the cause or a part of the cure. And we get it. You might be reading this thinking, how am I going to find the time and resources to add mental training and mental wellness to my list of things to teach as an already incredibly busy dance educator? Or, you may not feel knowledgeable enough in this arena to tackle this sort of training on your own. We have good news - Danscend’s got you! We have lots of resources for you, your dancers, your studio, and your organization.
In fact, we have been thinking so much about the importance of leadership in the dance space, that we are proud to now be offering certifications for dance educators, dance competition adjudicators, and dance organization staff in mental wellness. Want to learn more about becoming certified?
