T2P Week 5

This course has been eye opening as I begin to explore the wonderful world of education from an educator's stand point.  It also would have been extremely helpful over twenty years ago when I became a parent.

My eldest daughter was a competitive Irish dancer from the age of nine.  She had always been an excellent athlete, and showed promise in skating, gymnastic and equestrian activities.  Then she found Irish dance, and was hooked.  She immediately received a lot of praise and admiration from her teacher and peers.  She was encouraged to compete, and loving competition happily did so.  She would practice for hours, independently, in our basement, and would attend as many private and group lessons as possible.  She watched videos, listened to music, and read about the art.  After many successful competitions she qualified for the national championship, and then the world championship.

When a child finds an interest that they are passionate about, and are supported in their endeavors, they will find great success, because the joy of learning and improving one's skill is physically addictive.  Our bodies recognize what excites us and asks us to return to those sources repeatedly.  My daughters love of dance motivated her to spend hours working on improvement.  The combination of this intrinsic motivation along with the extrinsic motivations of praise, sashes and waterford crystal inspired her to work ever harder even when the going got tough.  Of course she was fortunate to grow up in a loving home where she was well provided for, and attended schools that were supportive and solid, so she had the time and energy to dedicate to her passion.  Maslow recognized the importance of meeting these needs before deeper learning can occur.  As a parent I was happy to support her in her endeavors and see her success. I love to see the enthusiasm of a passionate learner who's goals are being met and who is evolving as a person because of that success.  When a child realizes success in one area of life, they will experience success in other areas of their life, because of increased self confidence.  When children feel good about themselves they are willing to take risks because they have been successful in the past and recognize their strengths.  Her dancing took her to all over the northeast, California, Tennessee,  Illinois, Ireland three times, and Scotland.  My daughter no longer dances, but she has pride in her accomplishments, wonderful memories, a healthy life style, and the skills required to travel anywhere in the world.  When a child has a positive learning experience, their life will be enhanced, because the memories and skills and knowledge gained last forever, long after the classroom door has closed.