The Independence Factor

Are you given a lot of leeway in what you do? Are you closely monitored? Are you told every little detail of what to do? Most people thrive when they are given more space, when they are allowed to make their own mistakes, and try on their own to make things work. On the other side what often blocks us or prevents us from progressing on with what we need to do is just not knowing what to do.

So, where do you fall on this continuum? As a student, how much instruction do you need? how much freedom do you need? As a teacher, how much instruction do you give to your student? how much do they want? how much do they need? As a manager? As a business owner?

People tend to error a bit on the side of over instruction, over management, and not on the side of patience and giving space and time for the student/worker/friend/partner to experiment, to learn, to fix it themselves. I’m always annoyed by the student in class who feels obligated to tell the person they’re dancing with what to do. Or worse at a social dance. Or a spouse telling the other spouse what to do. Just chill out! Back off, and let the other one have some peace so they can think and learn.

As you get more experienced as a teacher/manager you get better as sensing just where people are, do they need more information, or do they need space?

In studios there can be a huge range of what studios offer for instruction for the teachers working there. Some provide excellent private lessons from other teachers for coaches coming in. On the flip side I’ve also heard horror stories of just instructors just being shacked up in a back room so they can watch dance videos.

At the first studio I worked at the owner was a nice guy, and fairly knowledgeable of dance and would give the other teachers free lessons. Unfortunately, he was an alcoholic. Often gone or just totally unreliable. One day one of the other instructors was complaining to me about the situation, about how he wished he could get more instruction. Now that struck a chord with me, I’m not one to just sit and complain, I’m someone of action. From that point forward I vowed to be personally responsible for my instruction, for my learning, for my growth in dancing. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

In the beginning it’s good to have guidance, to learn from others, to depend on them for your growth and development. But in the long run, I’ve always found that moving to your own independence is required to fully develop your dancing. There are teachers out there that will spoon feed you, even try to keep you as a forever student. I know, there’s some comfort in that. In our society we are kind of taught that the one who gives more information is the smarter one, and some students are seduced by that, but most of the time I’ve found that the quieter, softer spoken teacher is better.

In the long run I’ve always found it better to find the other teachers, the ones that push for your own independence. I push my own students for their independence. I’d rather have a equal, and someone that I can eventually learn from than a forever student.