Am I only one to think dance in schools is utter timewaste?

[inkyfingers]

Our local co-ed school does dance for all in KS3 - 1 lesson a week or two for THREE years. My middle son loathed it - painfully embarrassing. Not the only unwilling boy in the class by any means I gather. But DC3 heading there & I'm feeling cross .

well, by that measure, football in schools is an utter timewaste too, because many girls find it boring and intimidating.

You could say that about a lot of things. Sports were an utter waste of time as far as I was concerned because I thought them boring and embarrassing. Now I can see that maybe my teachers did have a point and maybe they shouldn't abolish sports just for my benefit.

The advantages of dance is that it teaches rhythm and poise, it strenghtens joints and teaches spacial awareness. Amongst other things.

And it's not only boys who hate dance, I found dance utterly humiliating.

But then, I never saw the point in PE full stop. to me, school was there to fill my brain up, not to train my arms and legs to do things I didn't want them to do anyway.

YANBU. It's such a waste of resources to teach physical education to boys and girls together.

I am wondering if mothers of boys are not likely to be more sympathetic towards their embarrassment, because somehow boys shouldn't have to put up with feminine activities, whereas mothers of girls who want to get out of sports and maths are more likely to be brisk and no-nonsense about it.

I wouldn't have any problem sympathising with my DD when she has to do eg boxing at secondary school. Completely counter productive.

I don't think they taught tap, folk, ballroom whatever, but more pointless kind of thing I'll be watching on X Factor . DH saw some of the girls dancing at school concert & and thought it much too sexy. Mr Inky takes cold shower.

I only recently discovered that 'Dance' is on the KS2 curriculum. I was livid. DS1 and DS2 hate it.

Why on earth cant we just do some proper sport? Quite frankly, its a get out easy option for girls who dont really want to do sport because they might get their hair wet.

Not good enough. No wonder we have an obesse nation.

90% of stuff at school is a waste of time and never actually used in adult life.

If you are doing dance properly it isn't the easy option it's just as good for physical strength and aerobic exercise as any other sport.

Standing around in goal during hockey (for example) while all the action is at the other end, because you're crap at hockey, is the easy option and what I spent my pe career at school doing.

Why is it wrong just because it isn't competitive? It still teaches teamwork and all the physicle stuff as well as musicality. I hated PE but it was nothing to do with my hair Beta. I have no coordination and can't hit a ball, throw or run. Dance was the one exercise I did out of school.

my DS2 would love that

DS1 has quite enjoyed dance in junior school

Even that dance you see on the X-factor is quite physical and good exercise.

They def have it to encourage girls & i don't see why not, I have seen mixed class play football & some of girls wanted to be invisible Although maybe aerobics might be better

I think it's a waste of time, too. I wouldn't mind if they were being taught proper dancing - ballroom, Scottish country, English country, Irish......, but in my DC secondary school all they seem to do is make up their own dance to a piece of music. If they're anything like my DS1 and his friends all they did was pretend fighting in time with the rhythm.

When I was at secondary school we also did dancing, but we learnt proper dances.

JudgeJudy - wouldn't it be better to encourage them to learn something more technically precise as you suggest. It's not just messing about in time or not to the music, but something you'd get a real buzz out of doing properly and learning different dances. Boys tap-dancing en masse would be awesome. Plenty of exercise in there too.

Also... when they have the school disco, they can all wear tuxes and properly invite girls to dance and no snogging!!

JudgeJudy - wouldn't it be better to encourage them to learn something more technically precise as you suggest. It's not just messing about in time or not to the music, but something you'd get a real buzz out of doing properly and learning different dances. Boys tap-dancing en masse would be awesome. Plenty of exercise in there too.

Also... when they have the school disco, they can all wear tuxes and properly invite girls to dance and no snogging!!

I think it should be 'proper' dancing. My DB was made by his rugby coach (along with all the other lads) to take ballet lessons in school as well. The lads thought it was going to be the height of embarrassment, but the coach said that no one could be in the team if they didn't learn the balance and grace needed for ballet- he said it would make them better rugby players.

Anyway sod the rugby, my size-17-feet brother now dances for the Royal Ballet because the ballet teacher was overwhelmed by his natural talent. But if it hadn't have been compulsory, we would never have known!

Ever see Mad Hot Ballroom?

Many public elementary schools in the US, especially in inner city areas, now teach social dancing and have seen positive results in terms of behaviour and self esteem on the part of the boys and girls involved. It shows boys especially that hyper-masculinity is not the only choice if they want to impress girls. This is a good thing all round.

The benefits of proper dance lessons in school go far beyond athleticism or keeping in time with the music. It teaches good deportment, social skills, etiquette and respectfulness and a better attitude towards the opposite sex. And it takes energy and co-ordination. It's a brain workout as well as a fitness booster.

I think its Expressive Arts at my DCs school as well and its on some sort of complicated rota system. DS(13) enjoys it because its a bit of a change from sitting at a desk.

I think the biggest issue is so many schools trying to offer it whilst having it taught by someone who may well have been shown a scheme of work, but as it's not actually their subject they haven't got the skills to develop it beyond the obvious, and so it turns out to be pretty boring.

This assessment is based on my own experiences as a pupil from 1987-1990, whereupon I started GCSEs and abandoned all things creative/artistic in favour of academia. However, even though I am incapable of understanding the attraction, there are plenty of people who like singing and dancing and acting, but I am disappointed at the number of kids I teach Science to who have such unrealistic expectations about the potential career that they will be able to follow. I know that there have ALWAYS been some like that -I went to the same school as one of the Spice Girls for goodness sake - but the proportion that think they can make it now is unreal!!!

It is a shame about children's unrealistic expectations perhaps, but then that is not really any different from all the little boys who dream of being professional footballers. As long as they are getting exercise and learning some useful skills. Imo drama and dance does teach poise and presentation skills: I wish we had had drama lessons in my school.

Mine had Elocution and Deportment -- I would have preferred dancing tbh.