So it’s the beginning of week three of the study period, I
can not believe that time is marching on so quickly again.
I have had a successful start to the term however, getting a
good majority of my observations moving, and have completed most of my
interviews, along with a bonus one with another professional which I wasn’t expecting,
but which highlights and supports my enquiry perfectly…. Now I need to start writing
up my evidence and analysing my findings, surprisingly I am looking forward to
this process although I know its not going to be a quick task!
Today however I stalled, the observation that I had for
today had to be cancelled as the performing art instructor leading the session
was not able to attend. Although this has put me back slightly with my
observations it did however give me some more things to think about and in fact
I think provided support for my enquiry by not taking place.
The fact that due to the instructor being unable to attend the
whole sessions was cancelled to me is a fairly poor situation to be in. Was
there no one else who was qualified or able to take the class? Apparently not!
This is not something that is uncommon in the world of learning disability and
performing arts provision. I was speaking to another colleague yesterday who
provides sports and recreation for people with learning disabilities and he
told me that he had been looking for a dance instructor for 2 years before he
found one. His experience is that mainstream teachers either weren’t interested
in leading this type of class or that they were unable to teach at an
appropriate level and he had to let them go as it wasn’t benefiting his
clients. This is something that I highlighted as a need in my enquiry, the fact
that mainstream teachers are not used to, informed or confident in teaching
people with a range of abilities, and it shows a greater need for education and
support in this area to give those adults with learning disabilities who want
to take part in such activities the opportunities they require.
Additionally what I found disappointing today is that
although the class was not running the student who were expecting to take part
in their performance class were not informed until they reached the lesson,
they were not turned away but were given another class in its place, this
however was not performance based, it was arts and crafts. How would you feel
if you turned up to your adult dance/ drama class and were told, “Its not
running today but here is a piece of paper, draw me a picture.”?
This to me identifies that the performing arts classes when
provided for adults with learning disabilities are not afforded the same respect
as those provided for the rest of us, they are simply an amusement, and
provided as a weak alternative to sitting around and therefore can be replaced
by almost any other activity.
This client group should attend because they enjoy dancing
and drama specifically, and this is what they should be provided with, they may
enjoy arts and crafts, they may not, is it not a little discriminatory to
assume that all people with LD enjoy arts and crafts and so they can do that
instead? (that’s an argument for a different day and a different post!) In this
case the students were more than happy with the change in activity and were
happy to join in.
To me this just highlights the need to better educate teachers
and activity providers of the benefits of performing arts classes for those
with LD who enjoy this kind of activity, even if these benefits are simply
participating in a hobby they enjoy, a little exercise and putting a smile on their
face it is of much value as it is to us when we attend our recreational activities
and should be afforded the same respect.
No comments:
Post a Comment