My daughter is bored in her new class.

[AmaLari]

My DD is 6 years old and hates her new class. Last year, she was one of two children in her class (the teacher comes to their school for the after-school program) and received a lot of individualised attention. During the summer break, she took classes at the teacher's main studio with a few other girls. She loved it, was challenged, and really progressed - she now has a consistent turnout, is pointing her feet properly, etc.

 

The new after-school class is supposed to be for RAD Grades 1 & 2. My DD and another girl are both at the Grade 1 moving into 2 level, but the rest of the class is new to Grade 1 and the students don't have the same focus that they do.

 

She really doesn't want to go to class anymore. DD doesn't want to stop ballet, she just doesn't want this class.

 

I'm of two minds in this dilemma. On one hand, she does deserve the opportunity to be challenged, which is what she craves. On the other, she's only 6 (June birthday). If she rushes through now, she will eventually run into physical/developmental limitations later if she continues dancing. In my opinion, a little boredom now is probably better than frustration at feeling like she's being "held back" when she's older.

 

My options seem to be:

 

1 - Tell the teacher that she's bored. (I have done this already.)

 

2 - Switch her to classes at the studio, at great inconvenience to myself. (I'm not certain how willing I am to do this at age 6. If she's still dancing at 10, clearly it's a different scenario and I fully expect to be inconvenienced. LOL)

 

3- Move her to a different studio (also good) with the same curriculum. (She took her Baby Ballet and Pre-Primary classes there and I liked it. I do prefer her current teacher, though.)

 

4 - Explain to her that we don't always get what we want (put in a nicer way!) and that she should use this time to really focus on refining the basic techniques that she has already been working on.

Edited October 4, 2006 by AmaLari

[Memo]

knock knock, teacher here. You might want to wait a bit. Sometimes it just takes the other kids a few weeks to get used to it and then the teacher is able to step up the level of the class quite a bit. I would hold off before making a decision. Grade 1 is very appropriate for a 6 year old. I would however always opt to take my kid to the main studio instead of the at school class. I have done these kinds of classes and the level at the studio is always higher and more focused.

[yankee]

It has been our observation that, the younger the student, the more likely they will encounter kids in class who aren't "serious" about ballet. It sounds as though your dd follows along with more focus and perhaps understands the fundamentals a bit easier than some of the other students.

 

What response did you receive from her teacher when you spoke to her about your daughter's boredom? Has she suggested that your daughter is technically ready to move to RAD 2 sooner rather than later? Sometimes a lack of challenge can be the reason for boredom but encouraging her to take the time necessary for a proper transition from RAD 1 to 2 will benefit her in the long run by ensuring that she has fewer foundational issues to fix later (and this may need to simply happen without much explanation). We have noted a similar frustration with our dd during transitions from one level to the next.

 

What other school options do you have? Other than her previous studio, have you visited the studio which you've mentioned is inconvenient for you? It may be premature to commit to this inconvenient situation if there is another viable option which would better meet her needs. I suppose if I were in this situation I would consider a conference with her current teacher and perhaps, additionally, one at her former school. The outcome would drive my decision in one direction or another.

 

As for your last point, it will eventually be beneficial to explain to your daughter that all dancers work on polishing their basics - BUT, I am not sure that a young 6 year old could comprehend this. I am sure that what is first and foremost in her mind is whether or not she is having fun. And at age 6, if you can provide safe, consistent training but which IS fun first, she will likely continue to enjoy her dancing experience.

 

Please let us know what happens.

[AmaLari]

Memo

Thank you for pointing out that the other girls might settle into Grade 1 after a few weeks. It's only been three weeks so far, so things might be quite different by November. DD has been doing Grade 1 work for 8-9 months, so she's a bit frustrated.

 

Yankee

It's quite true about the younger classes being filled with students just trying out ballet to see if they are interested. Where we live, the Baby and Pre-primary classes are always full to bursting and the numbers seem to drop every year as the children progress through the grades.

 

The studio which is inconvenient is actually her teacher's main studio. The school has a purpose-built ballet room, complete with sprung flooring, so the facilities are quite good. However, the girls at the main studio *are* more focused and disciplined. At school, she's the youngest at her level, but at the studio, there is a small group of girls her age who work very hard and love ballet. When she was with this group, the teacher had the flexibility to push them further along because they were so dedicated. That dynamic just does not exist in DD's class at school.

 

She doesn't really understand that she can use this opportunity to polish her skills, unfortunately. She *is* only 6, after all! DD loves the process ... barre work, repeating things over and over until perfect, etc. She is confused by the girls who aren't consumed by this and 1) don't try their best and 2) take a mid-class water break (DD finds this shocking).

Edited October 4, 2006 by AmaLari

[Victoria Leigh]

AmaLari, I think it might be time to become incovenienced and get her to the 'real' studio. Classes at school are probably not going to proceed with the same focus and discipline as those at the studio. I agreed with Memo at first, in terms of waiting a bit for them to catch up, but I didn't understand that the class was in her regular school and not in the studio. If she shows a real love of dance, and a desire to progress, then it would probably be best to get her to the studio, even at 6. Sorry!

[AmaLari]

Ms Leigh

I see the older girls at the school (not studio) and they are quite dedicated - but that is probably because they are Grade 5 up through Inter Found and would be quite focused anyway. With the young ones, there are quite a lot of new children who aren't sure if this is something they want to do, which is of course normal, just not what she really wants right now.

 

The teacher and I have come to a compromise. DD will continue with twice a week classes at school for now, in the hopes that things will improve. We will add one class at the studio and see if this meets her needs for now.

[Victoria Leigh]

That sounds good, AmaLari

[Hamorah]

Just wanted to add that if she intends taking the exams, the minimum age for Grade 1 and Grade 2 exams is 7, so she'll have to be patient anyway.

 

By the way I am having a similar problem from the opposite point of view. A group of beautiful children who mainly got Distinction in Grade 3 have been joined by an equal number of new students who are Ok, but have not learnt as many steps as the "veterans". I have had to go back with them and cover the exercises that all of them need to know before advancing into Grade 4 work. I had a few complaints from the veterans that they've done this, but I explained to them that I had to make sure everybody knew it and I am putting great emphasis on the actual technique, so that the veterans have a challenge too. Additionally I am throwing in some new exercises to keep them all happy! It's hard at 6 to be as patient as a 9 year old would be, but as Memo said this does often happen at the beginning of the year. We recap a lot before carrying on. I think that adding on the one extra lesson at a "proper" ballet studio is a good idea. Good luck!

[AmaLari]

Thanks for your reply, Hamorah!

 

DD was given an exemption by RAD to take her last exam, even though she was under the minimum age. When it's exam time again, she'll still be underage, so the teacher will request permission this time as well. Once she turns 7 next summer, this will no longer be an issue.

 

Yesterday, I had a good conversation with her teacher and we think we know why DD is bored. When she was at the studio (and in her essentially private class last year), they covered the same fundamentals, but all the girls were capable of following verbal instructions for little combinations. The teacher tells them which 5-6 steps to do to the music and they can just get on with it, with the teacher correcting their technique. In the class at school, the girls aren't able to do this - the teacher can only give 2 different steps and must have them demonstrated before the girls can give it a go.

 

It seems like a good plan to continue with the school class twice a week and add a class at the studio which will apply the same skills, but in a more challenging fashion.

 

Thanks for all the useful replies! This thread has helped me to know which questions to ask and I now feel that I have a clear understanding of what is going on.

Edited October 5, 2006 by AmaLari

[petnzoo]

Memo

 

She doesn't really understand that she can use this opportunity to polish her skills, unfortunately. She *is* only 6, after all! DD loves the process ... barre work, repeating things over and over until perfect, etc. She is confused by the girls who aren't consumed by this and 1) don't try their best and 2) take a mid-class water break (DD finds this shocking).

 

 

My DD is also six and is the youngest in her level. She loves it and she needs to have a water bottle in class because she dehydrates quite easily due to some of the asthma meds she uses. You might mention to your daughter that sometimes people need to take a drink and it doesn't mean they aren't serious about their dancing but they might have just gotten over a flu or are taking some meds that make them thirsty.

[AmaLari]

Thanks for the reminder, petnzoo! She does understand dehydration (her brother is asthmatic), but these girls like to turn water breaks into actual breaks from class, which bothers her more. I don't think she has a problem with taking a quick minute to have a drink of water, but I will be sure to remind her that some people do need to do that.

[petnzoo]

Thanks for the reminder, petnzoo! She does understand dehydration (her brother is asthmatic), but these girls like to turn water breaks into actual breaks from class, which bothers her more. I don't think she has a problem with taking a quick minute to have a drink of water, but I will be sure to remind her that some people do need to do that.

 

 

You mean the teacher actually lets them out of the studio for a water break?? WOW, our girls are allowed to bring a water bottle into class for use but the only time they can leave the studio is to use the ladies (or gentlemens) room.

[AmaLari]

The teacher gives the Pre-Primary/Primary classes a group water break and I imagine that they are working on gradually stopping that habit. It's pretty standard here for the younger grades (not just this teacher/studio), but this could be because we live in the tropics.

Edited October 9, 2006 by AmaLari

[petnzoo]

The teacher gives the Pre-Primary/Primary classes a group water break and I imagine that they are working on gradually stopping that habit. It's pretty standard here for the younger grades (not just this teacher/studio), but this could be because we live in the tropics.

 

 

that actually makes sense I can imagine it gets quite warm in the early fall and late spring!