Biography
Graduated USF: Spring 2023
Credential Pursuing at the School of Education: Single Subject Dance Credential and Master of Arts in Teaching
Degree: B.A. in Psychology with two minors, Dance and Neuroscience
Currently Teaching At: Bret Harte in the Bayview, Cesar Chavez in the Mission, and Starr King in Potrero Hill.
Interview
The below interview has been edited lightly for grammar and clarity.
Question: What made you want to pursue your Master’s in teaching and the dance credential?
Zuri: I have been teaching for three years. I started working for Lines Ballet when I was a junior in college in 2022. Honestly, I began to work there because I needed a job. But then I fell in love with teaching and teaching dance and working with kids. When I graduated, I needed a job. I connected with a teacher that worked at San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). She mentioned they were hiring for the arts department and I should apply. I thought there was no way. I’d only been teaching for a year and then only in middle school. But I just went for it. I got the job and I was super happy. I was definitely a bit nervous because I didn’t have experience working with little kids, and I was going to be working with kindergarten, first grade, and second grade. But my supervisor said not to worry, we’re going to train you. We’re going to give you all the resources and everything that you will need to succeed. I started with a permit and during my first year, I was told that I needed to apply for my credential.
Initially I applied to Cal State East Bay for the dance credential. I started last summer. But the thing is, I’m super hands-on. I don’t really learn well through Zoom, and East Bay’s program is all through Zoom. There are no in person classes. It’s completely remote. So I did the summer program and it was fine. But again, I’m super hands-on and naturally someone who asks questions during class. I’m always curious about things. Especially for a dance credential, it’s movement-based and working with kids and stuff. [USF Dance Co-Coordinator] Amie Dowling actually emailed me and said, I don’t know if you’re interested, but USF is offering the dance credential starting in the spring and I think you should apply. I thought, oh my gosh, perfect. I met with [Associate Director] Autumn [Wagner] and Autumn went over the whole Master’s program. It seemed to be a better fit, honestly, because at East Bay, I was only going to get the dance credential and nothing else. And I wanted to get the Bilingual Authorization in Spanish. So when she said I could also earn a Masters, I thought, that’s a better fit for me. And it’s in person too. Plus I graduated from USF, so I know how things work, you know?
Question: How does getting the dance credential help you as an educator? What are you hoping to get out of the program?
Zuri: I like theories and structure. I want the foundations of how to really be a teacher, because I feel like I was just thrown into the classroom. I feel working with Lines Ballet definitely helped me learn a couple of theories and techniques and stuff here and there. But I feel like I’m in the Master’s program to really build my base, you know, build my foundations from the ground up. I’m coming into this Master’s program not knowing anything. It’s like I’m being born again, you know? I’m not discarding my teaching experience because I have learned so much in the past two years in terms of how to work with kids and how to lesson plan and everything. But I’m coming into the Master’s program with an open mind and trying to grab tools and techniques for my classmates and professors. I started in January and it’s been going great so far.
Question: Why is dance essential to a child’s development? What does does dance give kids in the classroom?
Zuri: I can start first from a scientific perspective. When we’re in the womb, we begin to develop all of ourselves and our neurotransmitters. When we are born, our brains are beginning to develop. Dance stimulates some of the somatic senses: somatic movement, tactile senses, meditation, and breathing. I think it’s really important for dance to be in the classroom at schools. Many of the kids that we work with need stimulation that they won’t get through reading, writing, and math. Our bodies need to release stress. One way to relieve stress is through dance. Then there’s the neurological side. I personally love to have dance in the classroom, and I try to advocate for it because it just teaches you so many life lessons. I’ve been dancing for 20 years, and one of my dance teachers growing up told me that dance training is life training. I feel like I am the person that I am today because of dance. I’m very disciplined, very independent. I tell my kids all the time, you’re not always going to win in life. We’re always playing games like Freeze Dance or Banana Tag, and the students are like, oh, I didn’t win, it’s not fair. I tell them that’s okay. It’s okay if you don’t win. I definitely try to have my kids learn to be good citizens and practice good sportsmanship. So definitely, dance training is life training.
Question: What are your priorities in the classroom? What do you hope students will gain from dance and from working with you?
Zuri: I want to say develop. Not just develop a love for dance, but just to get to know what dance is and why it’s important for our bodies and where it comes from. I also want to offer a safe space for everyone. I feel like you don’t have to like dance, but you should feel safe in it and not judged. I make sure that I say to my students, this is a safe space so you can be who you are and move how you want, and no one’s going to judge you. I tell that to my very little kids too, because sometimes they come in and are completely frozen. We definitely have to work from the ground up to help them even release their arms or move. My main goal is for them to just feel safe and supported. If they like, dance, great. If they don’t like dance, that’s fine too.
Question: Can you tell us a story about a specific student and your dance teaching?
Zuri: This was in my first year of teaching. It happened a little bit over a year ago. I was teaching fifth grade at Bret Harte and the very first class that I taught, the fifth graders walked in and this boy walked in with two middle fingers up. I thought, oh no. I got scared. Thankfully at Bret Harte there’s always a support staff. The student was taken to the wellness center and worked with his social worker, who was his mentor since he was in pre-K. So they know each other very, very well. After that dance class, I checked in with him and the social worker, and he apologized and said he was sorry. He said, I’m working through my emotions and it’s really hard for me, but we’re working through my anger issues. There wasn’t an issue with dance itself, but there was an incident before the dance class that made him really angry.
I helped him develop a love for dance and I assigned him to be my helper. Whenever I needed to pass out supplies or ribbons or scarves or fuzzy balls, I would have him do it. Sometimes he didn’t want to come to dance. So I would tell him at the end of class, hey, next time I need you to pass this out, or next time I need you to do this, can you do that? And then he would say yes. He would come to class expecting to help. And that helped him to stay. Eventually I was assigned to choreograph the fifth grade promotion dance, so I assigned him and three other students to be in charge of the movement. Obviously, I helped them with it, but they were like, oh no, we want to choreograph our own dance. I said, okay, cool. So I assigned the four students to be the head of the choreography people. That definitely helped them come to class because many of them would just skip dance, even though that wasn’t an option. It helped them be present and we all got along at the at the end.
Question: Where do you do your own dancing?
Zuri: I go to ODC Dance School. I take classes on Saturday morning. Also Lines Ballet for ballet training. I’ve been doing a lot of yoga lately as well as Pilates. I definitely want to get back into dancing for myself because I miss it. When I was growing up I did tap, and at USF I took a variety of classes for my minor. I took Contemporary Dance with Liv Schaffer. Kara Davis was one of my favorite professors. Amie Dowling and Megan Nicely helped me a lot too. The Dance minor gave me so much and helped set me on the road I’m on today.
