SHAPE America TOY Website Questionnaire s1

SHAPE America TOY Website Questionnaire

Name: Arvin Arjona School Name: Millburn High School School Address: 462 Millburn Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041 School phone (only if you want me to post online with your profile): Your email address (only if you want me to post online with your profile): [email protected]

Your website (if applicable, and only if you want me to post online with your profile): N/A

Questions Describe one or two of the newest and/or most innovative activities that you do with your students in Dance education? (i.e. instructional units, assessment strategies/techniques, development of personal/social skills, parent/family involvement, special events, etc) I have been doing a cultural unit with my students that tie in with the Modern Dance, Jazz Dance, and Hip Hop dance that I teach my students. I cover basic West African Dance, Chinese Fan Dance, Capoeira, Latin Dances (Tango, Salsa, and Bachata). I use these cultural dances to make many connections with how it affected codified dances through out the decades. I also use steps to success wall that makes students do a self-evaluation of themselves. This success step wall has three steps with the first step being the mastering of fundamentals, the second step accomplishing the intermediate skills and the final step being the advanced skills have been mastered. So these are the two new innovative activities that I have been recently using in my classroom.

What is your particular expertise in regard to teaching dance education – what is the focus of your teaching? My expertise in dance stems back to when I started to assist my Jazz Dance teacher at the World Jazz Dance Congress many years ago. As I gained experience in teaching in different settings, I realized that quality education with a safe environment for students to grow is what was developed among my experience teaching before I obtained my Masters in Dance Education from New York University. That is the main focus of my teaching is to make sure that there is a nurturing safe environment for my students to grow and learn and receive a quality dance education.

What is your philosophy for dance education – what do you believe in? My philosophy is very simple. Its is to maintain a high level of expectations for my students in order for them to be their best that they can be and receive the best and meaningful dance education that my students will never forget. I believe that my students will obtain a quality dance education with life lessons and appreciate the past and embrace the present to lead a life long healthy future mentally and physically. Its not about just learning steps but learning how to utilize the big picture of what dance education provides for every person and that is to learn to have respect for others and embrace others differences no matter what level of dance you might fall in. I always tell my students, that when we move, we dance, when we dance, we celebrate.

What does being a dance education Teacher of the Year mean to you? This is the biggest honor I can receive because I know that my colleagues are the ones that bestowed this honor to me. Even though some of them are not dance educators, I believe that they see quality education in what I do and I am so honored and happy to represent them at any convention that I present in or just being at the 2015 Shape America National Convention and said that I am the dance representative for my high school, state, and now the district that I am associated with. Being dance teacher of the year is also a great representation of the great work my students do in my class and that is absorbing and applying what they learn when they were in my dance class in their lives in some shape or form. My students and colleagues are important to me and this award is not just for me but for all of the dance educators in New Jersey and the students that I have taught for these many years.

What do you do to help other dance education teachers plan and implement exemplary programs? The best thing I do is to make sure that I attend a lot of dance conferences and present what has worked for me to provide ideas to other dance educators to enhance their program. If a person wants to have a dance program, I welcome them to come and observe my program and see what I have done with little sources to have it become successful. I also welcome any future dance educator to do their practicum or their student teaching with me and help them be prepared to be the best dance educator they can be with a meaningful experience. I have had the pleasure to have had a student teacher this past fall of 2014 and now have a future dance educator do her dance practicum this spring of 2015. Having a student teacher and a practicum teacher is a great honor that was bestowed on me this year besides receiving the district award.

Any quotes from students about you as a dance education teacher, or the classes taught by you? What makes Arjona unique is the way he educates the youth. He does not try to mold his students into a perceived version of “success”. He believes in self-discovery. Arjona distances himself from dictating and instead assumes the role as a facilitator allowing the students to find their own definitions of success. Instead of driving the students from point A to point B, he gives the students a roadmap, a car, an EZ Pass, and a few friends for the ride. He lets the students pursue their own paths and set precedents. Emma Quong (Class of 2015)

Mr. A and all my friends made us a family. He is so much fun, but he knows when to be serious. He has taught me a lot,” she says, including how to relax her shoulders and some karate moves she has used in her own dancing. Maria Perna (Class of 2012) List three of your “favorite” conference session titles that you have presented, with a brief description of each.

Hip Hop ABCs 1 and 2 By the end of this dance session, participants will be able to develop Hip Hop dance aesthetics by exploring Hip Hop dance through improvisation, learning the history of the Hip Hop culture, applying basic urban dance techniques and appreciate all of the aspects and benefits of dance to be used in the physical education and dance education setting.

Jazz to Hip Hop The Social Dance Time Machine By the end of this dance session, participants will be able to develop Social dance aesthetics by exploring different social dances from 1920s-1990s through Jazz Dance, Hip Hop Dance, learning the history of the social dance culture, applying basic social dance techniques and appreciate all of the aspects and benefits of social dance to be used in the physical education and dance education setting.

Tutting Dance Styles in Geometry and World History By the end of this session, participants will be able to develop Tutting dance aesthetics by exploring the Tutting dance through choreography, learning the history of the Hip Hop culture, applying basic Tutting dance techniques and appreciate all of the aspects and benefits of Tutting dance styles to be used in a Geometry lesson and a World History lesson setting.

Any additional major teaching awards you have received: NJAHPERD’s 2014 Dance Educator of the Year Awarded a Teacher’s Fellowship from Bates Dance Festival in 2007 Whos Whos Among American Teachers 2007-2008 Edition 7 Questions for a TOY Arvin Arjona The questions below are meant to be light-hearted and fun; this is a chance to show a bit of your personality. Although there are 13 questions, we will choose seven to highlight on social media and other AAHPERD/SHAPE America periodicals.

1. If you could have a teaching super power what would it be and why?

Fast Reader. The reason is because it will let me get through the paperwork,

student’s papers, and student’s journals in a quicker time and this will leave me

with more time to plan my lessons and come up with more ideas.

2. Share a funny or shocking story from your years of teaching.

The funniest thing that happened in my teaching career is when a few students

made a reference to me to Kung fu Panda and told me that I looked like him and

acted like him due to the fact he was an underdog that accomplished a lot and I

was that underdog because I started late in Ballet and Jazz dance and other

codified dance styles in my early twenties. Then eventually my students called

me Papa Panda and this stuck until this day.

3. With teaching there can be good and bad days. What’s a moment in your

career that’s made it all seem worthwhile?

To see the smiling faces after we just performed at the Orange Bowl halftime

show. Knowing that my students had an experience of a lifetime that they will

never forget. The other time is when I see struggling students at the beginning

shine at the end of the class and just realized they accomplished something that

they never thought that they would at the beginning of the class with me. These

are priceless moments that made it worth it to be an educator. 4. If you could go back in time to when you first started teaching what advice

would you give yourself? To be tougher but fair sooner in my teacher career. I

feel I was inconsistent at my younger teacher career and this would have made

my classroom management more effective earlier in my teaching career.

5. My students would think I’m impressive if they knew I can still play ice hockey

with the young twenty years olds and not only keep up with them but also score a

few goals at this age of 40.

(Ex. My students would think I’m crazy if they knew I base jump off buildings on

the weekends.)

6. One of my unhealthy guilty pleasures is Fried Food.

7. If I wasn’t a Dance teacher I would be a Chef.

8. What’s the biggest challenge Dance teachers face and how would you

change it?

Like Physical Education teachers, we still don’t get respected by our other

colleagues from academic subjects because they think what we do is easy. I just

educate them and tell them that I integrate history, English and Physics into my

classroom and show the dancing part but also the other areas that have

integrated into my class with my students.

9. Describe your teaching style in one word. Adaptive

10. Compare your teaching to that of your own PE experience.

If it was not for my physical education teachers in high school, I wouldn’t have

made it through high school. I will never forget my physical education teachers

and they provided me with the best experience that I will never forget.

Everything was organized and well thought out when we had lessons and

planned sports leagues with in the class. I also learned a lot of life long skills

from them. I hope this is what I am doing with my Physical Education Dance

students.

11. How or what made you become a Dance teacher?

For the love of the art and the biggest reason is to pass down all of my

knowledge to the future of America. Also to make sure students life and healthy

life style for the rest of their lives.

12. Ask your students to describe you in one word. Share a few responses.

Crazy, Passionate, Weird, Family, Energetic, Wacky, Smart, Creative, and

Caring