This talk will focus on my experiences in working with 7th graders, teaching a progressive series of classes, leading to a school-wide performance. Areas covered include crowd control, choreography, teaching techniques, handling reluctant dancers, dealing with attitude, a core vocabulary of calls and skills, teaching words, and learning speed.

We end with a quick walkthru of calls that look good in exhibition (Stars, Allemande Thar, Grand Square, Dip And Dive, Heel & Toe, Star Promenade & Butterfly Whirl) which you could use in any ONS. Finally we dance the routine to phrased calling.

Background

Parameters

• Private school, grades K-8, actively recruited 28% minority. Are students in private and parochial schools better behaved?

• Students have no choice in the matter. Like most things in traditional schools, students must do what the teacher says, even if they don't want to. For example, this was not a voluntary after school club.

• 4 classrooms of 16 students each all meet at once — 64 total.

• 4 teachers and up to 4 apprentice teachers are also present — used to make up the last square or fill in for absent students.

• Teachers pre-assign partners and squares before the first meeting.

• Teachers prepare the students for what we will be doing.

• Students have no previous square dance experience.

• Seven to nine meetings of 30-40 minutes each leading up to a 3.5 minute performance on May Day in front of the entire school and parents. Sometimes 2 meetings per week.

• Initial meetings are a progressive beginner dance party. From lesson 4 or 5 on, we focus on the specific dance routine and making it look good in performance.

• The teaching is quick and to the point. Most of the time is spent dancing what we know and what we have just learned. Some teaching is done with a demo (using 2, 4, or 8 dancers depending on the move).

• The routine is a phrased patter square with the music and calling pre-recorded.

Problems and solutions

• Partners and squares: Getting 64 kids to get partners and form squares the very first time can be frustrating and waste a lot of time. My best solution is to have the teachers assign partners and squares before our first meeting. We keep this pairing forever. We could allow them to change partners and squares but kids at this age respond better to structure and are easier to deal with.

• Same gender partners: Occasionally we have a gender imbalance and the teachers assign same-gender partners. The teachers acknowledge the situation and ask the kids to deal with it. They generally do.

• Holding hands: This is an issue which I don't make a big deal of but acknowledge once at our first meeting. I do see kids with stretch their shirt sleeves or sweatshirt over their hands so they don't have to touch their partner, but eventually the kids are touching each other. I generally don't get them holding their partner's hand when they are standing as a couple, for example in a squared set.

• Kids who are absent: Each meeting there will be kids who are missing. Each lesson starts with a quick reteach to catch up those who missed the previous one. Next we warm up by dancing everything we have learned so far, reviewing as necessary. See Teaching Principles That Will Help Students Succeed.

• Progressive teach and you can't fake it: I know that the final dance requires learning and responding to a certain number of calls. If a kid is absent or simply sandbagging it, they aren't learning. They might think they can catch up quickly starting on lesson 3 or 4 but we know that isn't so. As the instructor, I can't let people get more than one lesson behind. I am on a short schedule and they will never catch up. My solution is to make sure everyone is mostly getting what I am teaching before moving on. If something is a disaster, I will drop it for the day and pick it up next time. If a square isn't getting it, I will have everyone else sit down and quickly work with the square that needs special attention.

• Noise and people talking: Our experience teaching adults is that they are quiet and respectful in a teaching situation. I found the 64 kids in more of a gym class setting to be much noisier that I was comfortable with, especially when I teaching. The gym teacher has his whistle, the school principal has his authority, but we don't have many tools. My best tool is to have kids sit down and ask them to be quiet. Your demeanor is very important. If you are tentative and unsure, they will respond to that. If you act like you are in charge and know what you are doing, then you will receive respect (and less noise). Of course you do have the microphone but I generally talk without it. Right from the beginning set the expectation that for these sessions the caller will talk (or call) and they will listen (or respond).

• Kids who don't pay attention and goof off: Initially everyone is a bit resistant to our dorky activity. This usually resolves itself after around three sessions. However, there are always a few kids who have "attitude" and ruin it for the others in their square by walking slow, goofing off, hitting or kicking adjacent dancers, etc. as their way of letting us know they hate it. I have several ways to deal with these kids.

  Initially I just call for all 8 squares and observe what is happening. I wait until it gets a bit out of hand. Next I have everyone square up and sit down. Whenever I want to work with one square, or demonstrate a new move, or talk to them, I have them sit down. If I don't they will be moving around and talking to their friends. If they are sitting, they can't move around, and if they aren't near someone they want to talk to, they won't talk as much.

  I tell them that on May Day we be performing in front of the entire school and your parents so each week we will have a square demonstrate their progress and mastery of dance. I ask the problem square to get up and I run them through all the call that they have learned so far with their classmates watching. Often performing in front of their peers will shame them into doing better, at least for a little bit of time.

  A second tactic is to give them the "this is teamwork and if you aren't doing your part, you are letting your team down" lecture. Also, the "we are going to be performing this dance and you have to look like you are having fun" lecture. Finally there is the "your school stresses respect and your principal has invited me to be a guest at your school and share with you my knowledge of square dancing and you aren't treating each other with respect and you certainly aren't treating me with respect". While I hate to "lecture" the kids, sometimes they need a wake up call.

  A third tactic is to talk with the teachers afterwards. They know their kids and sometimes they need to talk with the kid privately to induce an attitude adjustment.

• One square is not getting something: With 8 squares, I must teach well enough that everyone gets the new call the first or second time. My tools are well chosen words or a demonstration. Consider attending the "How People Learn" session on Tuesday.

  There are still times when I must help one or two squares who aren't getting it. My solution is to have the other 6 or 7 squares sit down, be quite, and watch while I quickly work with the square that needs the individual attention. If I don't have them sit down, the room dissolves into chaos.

• Losing control: At one point early on, I lost control of most of the kids while I was helping one square. The kids who I wasn't helping were wondering from their square, and it was like they were at a party instead of learning stuff. My only solution at that point was to put on the square dance music, ask them to square their sets, and start calling what they knew. In general they would stay with me for that. This was before I had the "sit down" technique and I haven't had this problem since.

• Music: Initially I was oversensitive to what music I was using. My thinking was that kids wouldn't like my patter music and I should be using alternative patter music—something the kids would find hip and cool. I was trying to be their friend when I need to be their instructor. I do own this style of patter music and at one point bribed them that if they did good today then I would use "good" music at the end of the lesson. What kind of message was I sending? Answer: the music I normally use is "not good".

  I did use some pop music which they liked, but it backfired on me in several ways. First, people can only dance to the pop music if they have mastered the square dance basics: one step for each beat of music, partner, corner, right and left grand, etc. The beat on our square dance patters is often easier to find and follow than that on some of our pop music. You can't use the funky music early on. Second, the teachers didn't like the pop music! They said it was OK for practice but no way would we use that in the actual performance. The performance music had to sound like what people think square dance music sounds like. Finally, I used some music from Star Wars because one kid asked for it and I knew I had that music. Later feedback was that there is just one odd kid who is obsessed with Star Wars and the rest of the kids don't want it. I pleased him and 63 others don't like me for it.

• Learning speed and attention span: The kids get bored easily, can learn fast, and can even learn when they seem to not be paying attention. Don't underestimate them or what they can do. Show them once, practice it a few times, and move on.

Calls that look good in exhibition

• Grand Square
• Allemande Thar, Shoot The Star
• Heel & Toe
• Star Promenade with Butterfly Whirl
• Dip & Dive
• Heads Right Hand Star, with the corners Left Hand Star, Heads center Right Hand Star

Final routine

We worked the choreography out and made it work with the patter music. I recorded it by calling without dancers and waiting the correct number of beats. This was a new experience for me and took more than a few tries. Here is the final routine. The numbers in parentheses are how many beats I wait after saying the command. You can hear the routine here.

SHS 7th Grade Square Dance 5/05
Choreography by Lisa Greenleaf
Calling by Clark Baker

Music: Disco Joe

16 beat intro
Bow to your Partner, (2)
  Bow to your Corner, (2)
    Bow to your Opposite (2)
Join your hands and Circle to the Left (4)
Circle to the Right the other way back (4)

Allemande Left your Corner
Partner Right, Right And Left Grand, charge straight ahead (4)
Dosado your Partner (4)
Promenade Your Partner home (4)
Sides Face, Grand Square (14)
Reverse (12)

Allemande Left For An Allemande Thar
  Go Right - And Left - Men Swing Got A Back Up Star (4)
    Shoot The Star To Another Thar, Go Right - And Left -
      Men Swing In Got A Back Up Star (4)

Shoot The Star, Go Right And Left Grand (8)
  Get Back Home And Square Your Set
    All Join Hand Go Forward And Back (4)
      Do It Again Go Forward And Back
        Heads Face Right, Sides Face Left
          Those Two Ladies Chain Across (4)
            Turn Her Around And Chain Her Back (4)
              Heads Arch, Dip And Dive (12)

Same four circle up four (4)
Get Back Home and the Boys Star Left (4)
Pick up your Partner, Star Promenade (4)
Boys back up for a Butterfly Whirl
Go a turn and a half (2)
Girls hang on make a R hand Star (4)
All back out and Circle Left (4)
Circle Right Go The Other Way Back (4)

Allemande Left Corner (2)
  Allemande Right Partner (2)
    Allemande Left Corner (2)

With Your Partner Do Sa Do (4)
  Give Two Hands, Heel & Toe
Heel Toe, In You Go
Heel Toe, Out You Go
Heel Toe, In You Go
Heel Toe, Do Si Do (4)

Sides face, Grand Square (14)
  Reverse (12)

Head Two Couples Go Forward And Back
  Side Two Couples Go Forward And Back
    Heads To The Centers Make A Right Hand Star (4)
      With The Sides Make A Left Hand Star (4)
        Heads Center Right Hand Star (4)
          Find The Corner With An Allemande Left (4)

Do Sa Do Partner (4)
All Join Hands, Go Forward & Back (4)
Forward Again With A Great Big Shout (8)
Bow to Your Partner, Corners All
Thank your square, that's it that's all

Conclusion

The teachers look forward to me coming in because, by spring the kids are tired of always listening to them and they get to hear a new voice. Also, now that we have the formula down, the teachers know how it will go and enjoy watching it happen. They will also will dance as necessary to fill out squares or substitute for missing students.

I am working at another school this year and they also want me to come in for multiple sessions leading up to a presentation at their spring concert. This time I have grades 5 and 6 together followed by grades 7 and 8. Working with this school and these grades has been another learning experience.