In my Opinion

In my Opinion

Jim Stott’s whole career has been in Scottish education as a primary schoolteacher and headmaster. Jim was Director of Summer School until last year. In this article he tackles several issues which he feels strongly about.

I have been teaching children Scottish country dancing for over 40 years and have enjoyed every moment. Children are so enthusiastic and are motivated by a challenge. One of the biggest challenges I gave myself was to teach dancing to children at many levels: ceilidh dancing, general dancing for all, RSCDS Medal Tests and dancing festivals. My aim was to enthuse young people to have a good experience when they were young so that they would dance at a later date. Much is said about dancing festivals, but I have found they are a great motivator for young people. Despite what people say, youngsters love competing and participating in competitions. Preparing them for festivals gives great opportunities to develop steps, technique, phrasing and teamwork. The young people that I teach look forward to the next one every year! The numbers of dancers wishing to attend the Newcastle Festival show the width of interest in our dancing throughout Europe and the UK.

PE teachers trained in Scottish country dancing has seen the gradual decline in dancing taught in schools. I was part of the working group producing Jigs and Reels and Dance Trad. Both are excellent resources for schools. Perhaps Branches should offer classes to Primary school teachers to learn how to do Scottish country dancing.

The pressures in the Curriculum

The curriculum nowadays is loaded with many other things. Scottish country dancing covers many areas of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and I know just how much youngsters enjoy dancing once they get over the initial barriers. Begin with young people and you will find they want to continue throughout their primary school years. We need to do all we can to ensure that we encourage youngsters to dance.

Technique in classes

I am concerned about our dancing style as a whole. Why have people abandoned teaching technique in favour of teaching ‘dances’. Handing is on many occasions very poor. Teaching good technique makes dancing easier and more enjoyable. As we get a more mature group of people attending our classes, working on technique above the waist should be more important. Teachers need to teach how to give hands; how to make eye contact with people; and how to maintain good posture and phrasing. Travelling all over the world, as I do, opens your eyes to what is happening outside Scotland. There is a definite effort to teach good technique and keep our dancing style alive. I do not mean spending long periods in each class, but to make your class aware that SCD has certain footwork, handing, technique and phrasing.

Jim Stott

The Rogart Primary School dancers, taught by Monica Maclean, won the Jim Stott Shield at the Inverness Festival in March. This is what Jim means when he says that children love competing.

Photo by Calum Mackay of Highland News and Media Ltd.

Can festivals survive? I am really worried about the survival of our dancing in the future. In Scotland, there are days of dance. They are great. We need to have more of them. Unfortunately the demise of

Teachers must keep learning

Finally, dancing is for everyone. Most people just want to participate. They want to enjoy the friendship, fun and fitness that dancing provides. All you excellent young RSCDS teachers out there, remember that these dancers are the core of our Society. You need to encompass them and teach at all levels. Keep learning from more experienced teachers. They have a wealth of knowledge to pass on to you. I learned from attending workshops and hearing what other teachers had to offer. Little tips to make things easier to manage were invaluable to me. One day you will be the people responsible for keeping our dancing alive. We are in grave danger of losing our heritage to other countries. That would be totally unforgivable. Come on Scotland!