Balance betw strictness/leniency
Balance betw praise/negative reinforcements

This entry is to record what/how i feel abt the above mentioned issue when i was 21..
In 2005, i choreographed a dance 4 the gals of 1E3'05 to dance for Tanglin SS sch event. It's a sch perf, dance concert kinda of thingy...
They r all non-dancers with no exp at all, so i haf been teaching them lah... Then lessons went on as usual every week, now come this perf requiring them to put up an item, so i choreographed one 4 them to perf.. Then of course, what follows behind is training 4 the dance lah..

Now the issue sets here:
I would haf trained them for 6 sessions liao, counting up till the actual perf day... So what should i say/how should i judge them? They took 3 sessions to finish learning the dance, quite fast i would say, 4 non-dancers.. A relatively fast speed.. 3 sessions of full prac & my correcting/specifications of dance steps.... So the result is like out liao.. Though today(entry is blogged on a Tues, actual event is the coming Fri) still 3 days from actual perf, i dun think the standard can flunctuate by alot...

So what's e issue?
Cos they still haf not reached my ideal standard (benchmark 4 non-dancers) of a dance.. It still shows they r v green, i would say...
I not asking 4 high standard but i want to at least remove the 'greeness' in them, so tt they can at least: respect e perf, haf stage discipline, understand e hardships behind a perf (i.e the pracs they been thru, e amt of issues to be resolved like makeup, hairstyle, costume etc), & exp standing on stage, been viewed by audience..

All those mentioned was not totally absorbed by all students, some managed to meet my expectations, some didnt, some cant even be bothered... I m not angry, like i said, this class is really e best liao, i m only sad...
Sad, cos i cant push them to the next level of higher standard... If by my lowest standard, they already exceed liao, at least they can listen to rhythm, do simple dance steps, not like a zombie standing on stage anymore... So they passed my lowest expectations, which is y i like this class & wish to push them further up.. Sigh, but really seems cant leh...
Cant is becos they dun like it, & oso dun understand y im doing it... Why? Cos although they can so-called 'move' liao, they still nv full-up my dance steps.. Put it simply, they r always like marking my steps, so i really dunno is they cant/ they dun want.. Make them prac some more then all unhappy liao..

So when i try to push further, they not happy liao, sigh... & simply becos till now, i nv praise them for a complete full-run( not nv praise at all, juz tt complete run full-up nv praise), they feel tt i v strict & not a good teacher... Sigh... What should i say leh?? =p Not v sure myself.. I dun wanna praise cos i dun want their standard to stop at tt level, i wanna push 4 higher, simply becos they haf e potential to hit tt level.. I dare say their potential can meet tt of e NHDS Sec 1 dancers.. Esp take part in NKF Sec 1s...
Tt's what i sincerely feel abt their full-potential.. Only challenge now is to help them realise their potential...

Okie, so abt today's topic: striking a balance betw strictness/leniency & praise/negative reinforcements is really hard.. Cos i use -ve reinforcements more on them, less of +ve.. Simply becos i praise only when i sincerely feel so.. I dun wanna use praise as a tool of encouragement, cos later they will think: Aiyah, Zhongyi juz wanna encourage us, his praise is not truthful one...
Wah, by then, +ve reinforcements oso no use liao....
Their standard now still lack by a bit lah: timing got some not v accurate, hands not all e time straight, still counting out quite loudly sometimes, not smiling... Other than tt, It's viewable..
Okie lah, 4 mistakes for non-dancers, i can close one eye lah, but can reduce to zero mistakes one leh... Timing juz count in ur heart, & prac more with frenz, be used to each other's counting tempo.. Hands straight needless to say, lastly smile lor... Smile more oso wont die... Sigh...

Back to topic, sign, dunno when then they will wake up to my teachings? Should i be as strict as when i m dancing with dancers? I really wish so much they can maximise their potential..
But i wont lah, if i do, the whole class will collapse, so will our teacher-student relationship...
But hor, i already push my expectations down dunno how many levels liao leh...

Sigh, actually seriously i dunno y ppl feel my expectations high? Cos unlike Connie etc, i didnt learn from young leh, & i didnt go 4 extra prac like some students now, i only prac during ECA timing.. Anyone who is in NHDS b4 will know how little & pathetic the amt of time is.. How is it we (i mean any1 who feel my expectations high) r all normal ppl, not trained since young, & u all feel my expectations high?? Juz put ur heart into e dance, & feel, talk, understand the dance can liao... Doing wushu, u cant use a 'ballet heart' to dance right?
I m a normal person, tt's y when i can do smth, i understand/believe tt any normal person (trained/untrained) can oso do it.. I started out as an untrained person too...

Quoted from Mr Low last time: As long as u haf the heart, even a handicapped can dance v well & touch the audience's heart..
Becos of this sentence, it motivated me on, turning me into what i m today...
Oso the reason why i stayed on in DI & not join outside any other troupes... Cos i'll always be grateful to Mr Low as his teachings influenced me...

I actually oso treat my students the way I was treated when i was a student BUT.....
My students from 1E3 actually turned out to say i biased... Wah lau, dunno is they joking or wat.. I practise Meritocracy in my lesson lah, not biaseness lah... If the person work hard, of coz can rest more lah.. I mean the amt of sweat already differs liao, how can a lazy person be asked to be treated the same as a hardworking one? Even the amt injuries suffered also differs, if i treat both ppl e same, then tt is y i demmed biaseness... Okie lah, but anyway i think friends who know me should know Zhongyi's pattern is how one lah... So can only hope 4 e kids to wake up & realise one day what i haf trying to do 4 them ba... =)

Okie lah, anyway blogged till here ba...
Bottomline, balancing betw the 2 ends is a skill tt i haf to keep learning & learning every now & then...

End of entry