Recently I admitted to myself: 90% of what you're doing right now is brand new. You've never done it before. That's why it's taking so long. And that's ok."
Permission granted to NOT move at warp speed.
Sometimes, the key ingredient to your success is TIME. In case you need a reminder that sometimes progress is so small it's virtually undetectable, and that learning doesn’t always look how we expect it to, I want to share with you one of the most impactful experiences of my teaching career.
Week 1: There is a little girl who seems suctioned to the edge of my classroom. I invite her to be part of the circle with the rest of the class, where we're doing our warmups and getting to know each other but she shakes her head - an emphatic "NO!" It's like she's trying to tell me "It's hard enough to just BE here."
Week 3: My tiny dancer remains whole-heartedly uninterested in joining the group during any part of class. But I peeked at her in the mirror and when we point and flex our feet, hers are going up and down along with the rest of the class.
Week 6: Participation is minimal, at best, and always happens on the sidelines but mom says a certain move & groover is playing dance class at home and seems to be regurgitating my lesson plans verbatim.
Participation is not always an indicator of how much learning is happening.
Week 10: Someone is dancing with the class! Warmups, movement games, galloping and leaping across the floor are all solidly within this little one's comfort zone now. But there's still room to grow. When it's time to take turns during free dance, this one is not budging from her place along the wall.
Week 12: It's time for free dance. Everyone is dancing together. I call the class to the side of the room so each student can take a turn. One by one each kid flies around the room, showing off moves. I call out her name, expecting she'll shake her head no or shut down for a few minutes before she works up the nerve to participate again. Instead,
she bursts forward, expressive and full of energy. It's like she's forgotten that's she's afraid of this part of class.
I have to bite my tongue to keep from cheering in excitement for this moment of courage, this victory of bravery, this burst of comfort zone expansion. I don't want to spook her, so instead I bear witness to a beautiful moment of self-expression.
12 weeks. 90 days. 3 months.
The progress felt slow. But also, she only had class for 45 minutes once per week. So you could also see her growth as lightening fast:
12 days. 540 minutes. 9 hours.
Here's the thing.
Steps forward - no matter how small - are just that, steps forward.
Imagine if that little girl's mom or I had, at any point, told her that her level of participation was not enough. Do you think she would have wanted to come back?
I’m so glad we both had patience with this dancer. I’m so grateful we were able to give her the time she needed to blossom into her movement. And I wish the same for all the dancers who seem to love coming to class but then participate by running circles around the room, lying on the floor, or sitting with their back against the door.