Reflection

      I believe I gained a greater understanding of what is important for a leader to have through my experiences completing my EDGE project. I realized that confidence and being comfortable with the situations that you find yourself in helps those you are leading to be comfortable, confident, and follow your instructions. I learned a lot about leading others and that sometimes what is taught is less important than how you treat and interact with your students. I found that eye contact and being sure of my self was more effective than checking my lesson plan or taking time to decide or try to remember what I had planned to do next.

      I think that one of the main things this project taught me about being a leader was how important providing an example can be. I always thought of leaders as people who directed or told others what to do, like a politician or a teacher, but I found that my example was even more impactful on the students I interacted with. I had some students who did not get along with each other while they were at school, and the contention continued while they were in dance classes. I strove as a teacher to be encouraging and uplifting to all the students, no matter how many mistakes they made or what concepts were difficult for them. This helped me stop unkind comments or behaviors because the students had seen me treat each dancer with respect and fairness, and knew not only what I expected of them, but what treating others well looks like.