open mind

The Skype discussion this afternoon touched many interesting topics, (there was problem with my Skype, so I was only able to listen).

We've talked about sharing and exchanging information, and how sometimes other practitioners are reluctant to share their experience and information or answer questions regarding their practice and become defensive. And what reasons keep them, from opening up and participating in an exchange.

In one of the dance studios I teach, we are all encouraged to watch each others classes. This is something I really like, as I feel as a teacher you can very easily get lost in your little bubble and it is also always very interesting to see your students in another class setting. 
But it still makes me feel nervous some times, when somebody actually comes to watch my class and after the Skype discussion today I tried to think about why exactly that is. 

As dancers and dance students we are used to people watching us and are usually open and happy to receive feed back, as we know that constructive feed back will help us grow.
Why is this situation then so different being a teacher? Why do I feel more insecure about being judged as a teacher, than as a dancer? Is it because in a traditional class setting the teacher is supposed to have all the answers (and therefore cant't be "wrong") and the student is the one expected to do all the learning and evolving. 
But the teacher is (hopefully!) also constantly growing, searching and therefore in a life long learning process.
Is it the mind set then, that is different and makes us perceive feed back differently as a student or as a teacher (feeling judged vs. expecting to receive feed back)? How can we change that mind set? As a teacher I find, that trust is very important, in order to create an environment where learning can take place, the students have to feel, that they are allowed to make mistakes and take risks, without being judged. Maybe we as teachers should also try to work on that trust in our teacher community.

I sometimes find myself wanting to apologise or explain things that didn't go as well, as I wanted them to, in class, when somebody is watching. A couple of weeks ago I watched Liz Lermans lecture on youtube and she said something very interesting, that resonated strongly with me, about turning your apologies into questions. Instead of apologising for things that are not perfect or up to where you would like them to be, for example teaching in a community dance project, instead of saying: "sorry the class was really loud and I can't keep them focussed", you can turn that apology into a question: "how could I try to keep the class more focussed?". This way we allow ourselves also as teachers to ask questions, exchange ideas and enter in dialogue with each other. And can give ourselves space to grow and learn. 

The other topic, that was raised today, was about how to narrow down questions and how to find, what is relevant and essential, without getting lost in a sea of information. It made me think of a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, that I really like:

"Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away"