My Job

"My daddy says that he likes when I point my toes."
"I like when you point them too."
"But his favourite thing is when my mommy sits on him."

"I need everyone to bring something to class next week that you could use as a wand. We are going to practice with our pretend wands until we get real ones. You could use a stick, or a spoon from your kitchen, or anything."
"But Miss.Emily, I'm not allowed to take spoons into dance class."

"Miss.Emily, I can't have the bee sticker."
"Why not, dear?"
"I'm allergic."
__________

Theory of Mind (as defined in my Developmental Psychology text): proposed by Premack in 1978. It is a person's ability to acknowledge their own and other's mental activities. Develops around age 3 or 4.

For example, if a child has not yet developed theory of mind, they would not be able to lie, because they would assume that everyone shares the same thoughts as them. A common study done to examine this phenomenon is the "candles in the crayon box" experiment. In this procedure, children are asked what they think is in the box, where they respond "crayons." When the researcher opens the box, there are candles inside. When asked what they first thought was in the box, they will respond "candles." In other words, they are unable to identify that they thought wrong. Once they know something they assume they knew it all along.

I can apply what I learn in school at my job. I pity people who have to flip hamburgers to pay for tuition.
__________

A good teacher is a rare thing. Everyone has that one teacher from grade school or high school that sticks out to them as really caring and changing you. My dance teacher was that for me, and I have the opportunity to do that for my girls. I love watching them learn over just weeks, and seeing them grow up over the years. Some of my students have been with me my whole 4 years of teaching, and to think that I was the one who taught them everything they know about dance is the most rewarding thing in my life. Everyone asks me if it's hard getting up every Saturday morning and driving off to work all day. Sacrificing my Friday nights, which could be spent boozing and partying. I wouldn't have it any other way. This centres me.
__________