Alison Lonsdale BA (Hons) - Professional Practice, Arts & Creative Industries Blog

How time flies! I am not too sure if I could say 'how time flies when you're having fun' because I don't know if you can describe the last couple of months as fun, however it is so nice to have a focus, and a positive drive. Welcome to the people starting module 1, and welcome back to those moving onto Module 2. Module 2, for me, was a challenge because there were so many different elements and I always felt like I had something else to add in or consider. The list never ended, it was like I was always adding on another job at the end of the day, and don't even mention the word count. Editing the work that you have worked so hard on is extremely time consuming, as you are trying to maintain integrity but the overflowing word count is still screaming out at you. I have read through the module 3 handbook a few times before starting this final leg, as I felt it was paramount to start my research with knowledge and most importantly confidence within my self. Once comple...

Submitting all of the documents that I have worked hard on over the months was scary but a relief. I am always doubting myself and aim to constantly evolve upon my work, but towards the end I had to stop editing and trust that it was at a standard I was happy with. Hitting the submit button and seeing all of the documents on Turnitin was extremely satisfying and I did a celebratory dance around my kitchen.  I don't want to jump the gun, but I always said that I would give myself a couple of weeks to get my head together and get myself straight at work, and then I would pick up the module 3 handbook. I don't want to jinx it and throw myself into module 3 as we haven't yet had the results for module 2, but I also want to make sure that I can assure my self that I used my time wisely and did enough, no matter what my results are.  I will give myself a month and then begin further reading and also read over the module 3 handbook to get to grips with everything I need to prepare...

So during this absolutely crazy time, I was re-deployed into an adult care home. Here, I was in a 14 day isolation period, making sure that the most vulnerable came into contact with as few people as possible. The second rota of staff are working the isolation period right now and I am back to my 'normal' day work in school. We are keeping the 14 days isolation, 14 days day work routine until we feel appropriate and safe for everyone concerned. The isolation has been a very challenging time, more so than I thought it would be. Going in I thought I was going to be absolutely fine. I had no idea what was going to be fine, but I just didn't think a lot of it.  The first couple of days were absolutely fine, we had a good routine and everyone seemed to be on the same thought path, the good thing was the team spirit carried on throughout. Around the 4th day I started to miss home, it was less than a mile away from the home but I wasn't allowed to leave. I started to miss waki...

For those who are new to my blog, I am a dance and yoga teacher in a school for special educational needs and disability (SEND), and I also work in a private dance school a few nights a week teaching ISTD syllabus in tap, modern and ballet. Unfortunately due to the current situation around Covid-19 the dance school has closed for the foreseeable, which is extremely sad but others are in this very same situation. I miss my students so much, they were meant to be doing their annual show this week!! We are keeping spirits high by constantly posting on the schools instagram page and streaming live or pre-recorded classes. I am still working during the day as the school as this place of work falls into the 'vulnerable' section and we are required to keep providing services for the students who need additional care. Due to the vulnerability of some students we have been forced to go into a lockdown in some of the homes connected to the school and college. I have been working and livi...

Interview techniques and conducting interviews is something that I have never had to think about, and until now, I have only experienced them in the form of a job interview.  Job interviews to me have never been a joyful experience and I often don't remember them at all upon walking out of the room. It all turns into a blur and a fraction of self doubt. "Why did I say that?", "did I answer their questions fully?", "could I have done better?". Conducting an interview feels very surreal sitting on the other side of the table in the manner of having to prompt questions and lead the session.  For my inquiry I have chosen to carry out my interviews and focus groups in semi-structured format. These types of interviews are exactly what the title says, they are not rigid and dictated completely in the form of closed questions in search for a yes/no answer. The interviewer maintains structure by taking into the interview pre-set open ended questions to keep the...

Throughout my journey so far on the BA PP course I have had many lightbulb moments, and also moments of complete hysteria where I don't have a clue what I am doing. Through our community on blogger and also the Facebook group (which has been a god send) I have managed to stumble through module 1 and into module 2, but feel like I have constantly not been able to catch myself fully upright on my feet.  I tuned into a Skype session with a module 3 focus last week. I logged into Skype and was away chatting with module 3 students and some of my fellow module 2 students. My intent going into a Skype session is always blown out of the water and I come out with different thoughts, my questions that I write down before hand and intended to ask are either irrelevant or just don't fit into the conversation. My mind is away thinking about what has just been discussed during the session and my questions are left on the side unanswered. This is what I call my 'reoccurring hazy fog of a ...

I think the way we think about ethics and the way we portray them in life has a lot to do with; how and where we are brought up, how open minded we are and experience. My upbringing was not one of religion, I wasn't exposed to it at all and I was from a small town. My big move to a city at 16 was when I realised how different life was. I had no option but to open my eyes and change the way I looked at things. I felt a bit like a blank canvas that was able to form my own considerations but also a little uneducated in approaching certain situations. Attending other dance classes was a massive eye opener for me. There was a student that didn't take off their cardigan for the entire ballet class, throughout the barre, centre work, allegro and all the way through to pointe work. Out of curiosity I asked why they made this choice, to which they politely explained that it was due to religious reasons they were making this choice. Things as simple as this I had never had to think abo...

As a child I attended dance classes and took numerous exams with the examining body ISTD for ballet, tap and modern, I now teach these grades as a qualified teacher. It wasn't until I learnt and taught the grades that I realised there are differences in the syllabus, in the way it is learnt, taught and performed. The ISTD is a syllabus written in books, word for word, black and white, count by count. So where do these differences come from? One of my classes is grade 6 tap, which I have recently just taken over. Whilst observing the class prior to teaching, there were a lot of differences in the way the students performed some of the exercises. The students weren't doing it wrong but it certainly looked different to what I teach. Me being a conscientious person started to question myself, did I learnt it correctly or have I modified it to what I think it is? Has the previous teacher put on their own twist to give the performance factor? It started a whole trail of thought abo...

Picking up the handbook for the new module (module 2) after a break for the Christmas period was always, in my mind, going to be a mind field of unanswered and unexplored questions to add to the list of thinking and research. The first Skype back was a lovely introduction to new members to the BA PP course and also a very good kick start to the new material at hand. I didn't allow my self to think about how much I have to do, but more so about pinnacles through out which are going to help me progress. The first read through the handbook didn't register at all, I tried to process everything but there is so much to take in. I read the words but as soon as I was onto the next page, I forgot what was on the last. This feeling was all too familiar as I felt a little like this during Module 1. Before reading through the handbook again the next day I completed one of the tasks set out in the handbook to help you settle into the module. For us (module 2) there are numerous activities...

Starting Module 1? Totally lost? Yes, I was too. I thought that the first Skype session was going to be one big answer to all of my questions, however I felt like I left the session with even more questions than I started. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing as it gave me a good starting point for my blogs. I am currently starting Module 2 and after the first Skype, the mist descended and the feel of nostalgia crept up. The feeling of not knowing where to start and the thought of "what am I doing?". To avoid the panic, I thought back to what I did to ease my self into Module 1. Once I read, reread and double checked the handbook and started blogging, I knew I was on a journey of exploration but I didn't know if what I was doing was right. My advice to you would be to start with blogging as soon as possible. Your ideas flourish and it also gives you an opportunity to share with the BA PP community on blogger.com. It provides the chance for you to write your ideas down...