I was interested in dancing when I was in 6 grade, so I volunteered to be a member of dancing club. When I was signed up, nobody said no to me or was upset about my presence. By the time, it was my school’s 60 years anniversary, so we were supposed to have 3 dances to be performed in that celebration. I was practicing and learning with all other children all the time for six weeks, and I knew the three dances by heart, and I was one of the best ones. Until one day, a teacher came, looked at us, and told the coach that I might not be able to perform at the celebration, as I am not tall enough! I admitted that I was the shortest one among the girls, but I was the best one among them as well. The teacher even did not have a look at my dance to make the decision to kick me out. I was working so hard on practicing for the whole 6 weeks. I was really sad and disappointed.
The teacher had the bias to say all the dancers must be slim and tall, and if I was not as tall as others or I was the shortest one, I should not be even in the club at all. She even would not give me a chance to see how I danced to decide if I was qualified or not. She did not give me any chance to prove myself. I could not have my voice heard either, as she was the authority back then.
The incident made me feel really sad, upset, and angry. I felt I was treated differently and I was not even able to say anything for myself. Meanwhile, I felt like in the future I should be a person of sympathy, and I should respect and value others and give them the chance to prove who they are, and avoid having prejudgement and prejudice on people.
I think there were many things could be done to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity. For example, all the dances that we practiced were a group dance. Dancers should be of different height to make sure everyone could be seen by the audience. I could be easily arranged to be in the front row or somewhere that I would not block anyone behind me. Meanwhile, the layers of the dance makes the dance more beautiful. In this way, I think equity was shown, and I could tell people were trying to involve everyone to be in the community.
That is to say, as long as people try to respect others and to be flexible, there will be more opportunities for them to turn prejudices, biases, or oppressions into equity.
I think it is really sad that dance coach, who obviously did not have a problem with you dancing, was not strong enough to say something to the other teacher and let you stay. Unfortunately, your story is probably true for many children throughout the whole sports area. I am glad that you were personally able to use this experience in a positive manner rather than allowing one teacher's bias to cloud your judgement of others.
ReplyDeleteXiyue,
ReplyDeleteI was saddened by your story. You had worked so hard on the dances to the point of being one of the best. The dance coach should have spoken up for you since you were still just a student. I agree with you that a dance could have been chosen that would highlight all of the children and celebrated different heights. We often learn a great deal when we are hurt the most. I am glad you were able to learn from the experience.