Behind the Internship: Lessons Through Dancing

"During one of our weeks at camp, my teaching partner and I were having a very tough time getting the kids we were working with to participate.  This was not uncommon, as the topics that we were discussing, HIV in particular, are somewhat taboo topics to bring up.  Many of the children were uncomfortable answering questions as well as asking their own.  

Bri Skees, Malawi Intern, leading morning games at camp.

Suddenly, I realized that the kids really love to dance.  What better way of getting them to participate than to persuade them with something that they love?  It worked like a charm.  As soon as we told the kids that if they get a question correct, they could come up and dance, kids left and right were raising their hands. 

This was a huge relief on so many levels.  First, I was granted reassurance that the children I was working with were taking in the information we were discussing.  Secondly, it was such a relief that I finally realized how to get these kids to break out of their shell—using something familiar and fun for them, like dancing!  I felt a bit unsure about using this method at first, but I think that one of the goals of World Camp, or at least a goal of mine, is to let kids know that learning about difficult topics is important, but they don’t need to feel uncomfortable learning about them.  Difficult topics can be intertwined with fun, off-topic activities, especially if it can increase their learning abilities. 

It is okay to venture from the curriculum for the benefit of your students, and that was a very important lesson for me to learn.  Kids all over the world love to have fun.  While their ideas of what fun might be vary incredibly, it is a commonality with all children.  Therefore, learning what your kids think is fun and persuading them with those activities is perfectly fine, as long as they are learning along the way."

Submitted by: Bri Skees, Malawi Intern SS1 2011