Just wondering what's happening with the "Teachers Only Private Board"? Does anyone know the date it is supposed to change over?
kinnimaples

What are you all trying to hide? Unless you are complaining about a student or parent and naming names and places (which I'm sure no one is naive enough to do) what's the need to go private?! Why wouldn't you want a non-teacher to see what kinds of issues professional dance teachers experience? Maybe if the "non-teachers" see what we all go through, things might improve for all. I've been teaching for over 20 yrs., discovered this site maybe 3 yrs. ago. I find it fun, informative, and a great place to get inspired and keep up with dance. It's also really special to have a place to meet other teachers that I would NEVER have the opportunity to get to know in another way. The $10 bucks is NO BIG DEAL, but closing the door to become private seems EXTREME.

This is a mucho dead topic Mel... Why they still have it sticked is beyond me when there are far more prudent topics that deserve to have a sticky.

This sounds really awesome! But is does seem like this post has been here for a really long time?!?

Money? Is that the main issue here?
Ladies - pay it willingly.
This is the cheapest form of "therapy" you'll find!

I agree that teacher posts need to sometimes be private but I'm not sure I'm up on the whole voting idea - (I'm new here)

How about a studio owner private board. There are many topics that studio owners can share that their staff should not get involved with.

i just tried to join, but need to do my checking acct transaction...no credit card. where is the help button for this or is the only method of payment cc?

Can't possibly say anything that hasn't been said, only, "Has a decision been made yet?"

I am new at this but I also do not think that this should be completly private. I love this fourm because its comforting to know that you can come here to get advice and answers a.nd suggestions from others that are in the same boat as yourself. I do not think t is something thta you need to pay for or get voted in

I'm confused. I just recently aquired a username for this site and am new to it. I am a dance teacher and have been for many years...I am going to need proof to that effect, correct? And where on the site to you pay for the premium membership? I never noticed anything when I was establishing my username etc.
Its just a little confunsing! Thanks:)

If a teacher wants a topic to be private, I think maybe that teacher could send a PM to other teachers. That way, the topic could be discussed privately. I don't see the need for the teacher boards to be private.

I wouldn't mind paying the $10 fee, but I don't like the voting, like others have said. To tell you the truth, the whole voting in thing almost scares me haha. I mean.. what if I'm not liked! God, I'd feel like I'm in elementary school trying to get into some "secret society of friends". And I know the question of "how will we prove we are teachers" has been asked, but that is something I am also wondering about. What about those who are retired dance teachers but still have a ton of knowledge that they can contribute? Will they not be allowed to join because they may no longer be teaching?

I think if some people, however, have already paid the premium member fee, they should not have to pay again.

I like the idea of the board being a bit more private because, like others have said, sometimes there are certain situations to discuss that we may not want parents or students to read. I know you can just "PM" other teachers, but what if you are new on the board and don't know who would be able to give advice towards your question? I know that I honestly wouldn't be able to pick a few of the hundreds of people on this board to PM a question to. The whole point of a forum is to be able to ask questions or discuss things with MANY people.

I teach because I want to SHARE my love and passion for this art. I have NOTHING to hide and feel the more I can share with others (and vice versa) will only give them "different" not better ideas to bring to this generation. Why do some teachers feel that they've somehow "created" something that no other teacher shall be able to use. Most likely you didn't "create" it anyway, so what gives you the right to say "it's mine" or "I did that first and she stole my idea" blah, blah, blah. If someone can use an idea or even a concept from another, great! Don't be so darn greedy people...jeez! Be inspired by each other.
Sorry to vent, I once had someone come to my recital and tell me that I "stole" their lyrical song from the previous year. Oh, I'm sorry didn't know your name was Cindy Morgan....
I wonder how many of you also "stole" her song...LOL

OK I hate to "beat a dead horse" so to speak, but I am wondering if we will ever actually have a teachers only board? I'm not advocating the voting, but I don't think a one time fee is such a bad idea. The only reason I am even bothering with this post is because when I post here I want the feedback of other PROFESSIONALS not students. While I know that they have great info and opinions to share, they can share it on any of the threads on the rest of the site.

It just seems as though I have seen in recent days some members saying "I am only a student and I need a teacher's advice" in the "Ask a Teacher" thread, then turning around and posting on the other supposedly "Teachers Only" threads. IMO That's not what we as teachers are looking for when we pose questions for our PEERS.

^^^^ "I'm wondering of we will ever actually have a Teachers only board."

If you go onto the Main Teachers board, it says, "Dance teachers only" in large, bold letters at the top of the page. There is, thus, already a Teachers Only board. Imadanseur has written a sticky "Who can post in this forum", where it states who may and who may not post here.

Those things being said, there really isn't a need to create a private board.

I realize this board says "Teachers Only" and that there is a sticky on who may post...That is what prompted my comment on this board...I was wondering if there would be a PRIVATE board. Sorry that I didn't make myself clear enough...

It seems to me that people are ignoring the bold "Teachers Only" and the "Who May Post" sticky, which supports the need for a private board. From reading others' comments, I don't think I am alone in feeling this way.

I'm totally ok with paying to be on it, it's not that expensive. My concern is also the voting part. I'm a fairly new teacher. I've been dancing my whole life but have only been teaching for my second dance season. If I saw something like that I would probably question whether or not the person applying actually was a teacher or was just a student paying the money and pretending to be a teacher so that they can see what's being said.

I absolutely love the idea of a private board though! I'll definitely be applying as soon as it happens!

Thank you Jeannie1 for bringing up the issue of retired teachers being able to post. I for one, have been retired for almost 8 years now. I enjoy coming to this site and being able to keep myself "in the loop" so to speak. I have replied to a number of posts with information that I feel might help others.I would be happy to pay the fee if there was some way I could verify my teaching credentials with this forum. I could send an old business card or recital program if that would do. Thanks for considering my plight.

I think it's frustrating enough that the Owners board is private. I would hate to see the Teachers board become private. When I come here to get some ideas as to how to deal with certain situations, I would hate to see, "You are not authorized to view this thread" come up. I wonder if it might discourage teachers from coming on here if the Teachers board became private.

i am not understanding the voting idea. we don't know each other personally so how can we vote? That doesn't make sense. Just make us pay the $10, with our PERSONALIZED credit card only valid if our name matches (since if you are under 18, you wont be able to pay... no daddy or mommy credit cards), and the studio we work for. will that work?

The original post was started in November of 2005. My guess is that this board will never actually be private.

I believe Im already a premium member. However, I feel like if I applied to get in the teachers only board I would be discriminated against because I've only been teaching by myself for 2 years. Even though I don't have years of teaching experience the teachers board has really educated me on different teaching techniques and I've learned a lot...I don't think it would be fair for teachers to not get in because they didn't have enough votes. If you're a teacher you're a teacher and that should be it.

Yikes! didnt realize this was a 3year old post haha

I am new to the board and have just recently started going through the posts from other instructors. Voting is a waste of time in my opinion. As long as you can verify that I am an instructor at a specific studio (studios in my case, as I teach a significant number of master classes), we should be able to move forward. Lord knows, we pay for enough things nowadays, and chatting or exchanging stories most certainly shouldn't be one of them. The best resolution, to me, would be provide a username/password type of scenario; that way, we keep people attracted to the whole reason why they came to DDN.