Dance 2 in the works

Starting this year, students have the option to take Dance I as an elective course. The class has been a great success, and is generally well-loved. There are currently some 50 students enrolled in this new class, taught by Deirdre Shibano.

Now, a small group of dedicated students, led by juniors Lea Cohen and Erica Gardner, have petitioned for a Dance 2 class. Students would get into the class only by audition or teacher recommendation. Cohen and Gardner are working hard, and it appears as if their efforts will pay off.

Hard work? So what? French 1, French 2, Dance 1, Dance 2, it follows. But unfortunately it’s not that easy. Cohen said, “We had to do a lot of research. It took a lot of time, and a lot of work.”

However, these young dancers are quite ambitious. Not only do they want Dance 2 as soon as next year, but they also want it to count for PE credit.

“People need an alternative to PE. Right now, you have to take PE for two years and a lot of people don’t like it, and it gets boring. But if you find something that you are passionate about, like dance, you should be able to spend your two years doing that, rather than something you find boring. Dance 2 would be a class even harder than Dance 1, which is already harder than PE,” said Cohen.

They’ve gone through huge education code documents, studied ordinances, and crafted legal arguments to prove PE credit can be given. They have also circulated a school-wide petition and collected over 100 signatures. Cohen and Gardner had to lobby school officials and prepare Power Point presentations.

The PE department was not necesseraily against giving Dance 2 PE credit. It’s just that there are specific guidelines and topic areas the PE department needs to cover. According to PE guidelines, the PE classes have to accomplish things like an aquatics unit and learning rules to games. The PE department did not think it was okay to give credit to a class that would not meet these guidelines, regardless of how much physical work the class was doing.

But the persistence and dedication of Cohen and Gardner appear to have brought their plans to fruition. The board of education has approved the course, and the PE credit. Dance 2 will appear as an elective on the March course selection sheets.

However, the PE credit the school is offering for PE 2 will be for next year only and would be just for current sophomores and juniors. This is a temporary agreement that will be valid only for the 2007/2008 school year.

This is a great example of diligent, active students effecting change in their school life and community.