I agree with the one time fee. I don't think students will be paying online and most of the students wont even to be able to pay online because you will need a credit card. Good idea!

Please don't set up this board so you have to be recognized as a teacher to view it. I am not a teacher, but I really enjoy reading the posts here, and I think it's benificial for parents and students to have insight into the joys and frustrations of their dance teachers' lives. If there is a problem with people posting on things they aren't qualified to post about, then why not set up the board like the Advanced & Professional Ballet board, where people have to be recognized to post but can read others' posts freely.

And, if you want this board to be closed to the general public because you are worried about a parent or student reading your post and getting angry with you, then perhaps you should reconsider posting things that could have negative reprocussions instead of restricting access to your posts.

NOOOO!!!!

This is the only organized section. The other section with young kids is a disorganized mess.

^By "the other section" do you mean the main DDN? Because it's not all younger kids, in fact the only place on DDN that has a high population of younger kids is the disco forums, and it's not a disorganized mess, either.


I have to say, regarding the application process, that I don't deem it necessary to reveal the name of the studio I teach at, for my own and for the studio's protection. We don't advertise ourselves, we get enough of that for free by our reputation in our area. I just posted on the "introduce yourself" board on this forum, and I stated on there that I wasn't willing to give out my location, the name of the studio I teach for, or its location. I'm just not comfortable doing that, especially because I don't own the studio, but my boyfriend does. And I'm not doing anything with the name of his studio that I think he would disprove of, but I don't think I should be excluded from applying just for that, either.

I don't think I like the idea of this.

First off, I do not want to have to pay to talk to my peers. Second off, from what I've seen, the boards seem to be fairly well kept in order, as far as keeping students from "moving in." I would just be really upset if you made these boards pay-only...

How complicated and confusing. I think it should just stay the way it is. I like being able to jump on and ask other teachers for advice. Why can't it just be that simple. How childish anyway. Just ignore the stupid people on here. Don't punish the people who need the free advice! I've only been teaching for two years, I'm still learning! I need help here!

Please make a private board separate from "Ask a teacher"

If it is private, then why do I have to post my name and studio, etc...to be voted in? I post on dance.net because of the guaranteed anonymity on the board itself (based on my account settings) and would like it to remain that way. The $$ doesn't bother me at all, the concept sounds great, but the way to get access to the board needs to be re-thought. I will not publicly acknowledge who I am just to be on here...and I would be sad to lose such a helpful and friendly group of people and their opinions/views. You may think I'm silly, but I teach at a very political studio.

I participated in another dance forum similar to this site and teachers had to pay a nominal fee and be voted in as well - I didn't necassarily agree - other members voted you "in" after they verified you were employed at a studio as a teacher (ie website). The problem came into play when legit teachers were unable to be verified because the studio was small and didn't have a website, etc.

I don't mind paying a small one time fee however in my situation now, I've relocated to a new state and I'm not currently working at a studio aside from providing independent choreography and 1-2 technique classes per week - how would you verify that I'm a teacher?

To be honest, I LOVE the board the way it is now! I don't think I would be very interested in paying for membership or providing personal information to get accepted onto the new teacher forum, and I'm not too keen on the whole voting thing. It seems rather political to me rather than open communication like we've had on the boards. Just some feedback.

Well, I'm fairly new to the site as far as posting, but I often visit to read through. I understand that $10 is not a lot, but I'm not sure I'm willing to pay that, since when I joined there were no fees. I would greatly enjoy the privacy of a teacher-only board, I do think it would be very helpful. I also understand I can read/post/etc on any other board about 'teaching' questions, but I'm curious if most teachers will be reading those boards when there's a teacher's board. I guess my concern is the fee. I wonder if there's a way to have a teacher's only board without a fee, but keep the voting option to be sure most agree the poster is a teacher. Just a thought!!

Honestly, it's the internet, so even on a private board I wouldn't feel free to offer up too much information, especially in the way of rants. Things have a way of getting out and these are our professional reputations on the line. I have no desire for a private board and probably wouldn't join, though I would be concerned about potentially losing some of the regular posters to it.

You guys realize how OLD this post is, right? LOL.

Just assumed because it got bumped that the discussion was ongoing.

I think it's dead. I'll MOD to see if they'll lock it, or if it IS ongoing, but we're talking about a suggestion that has had around 120 posts over the course of 6 years. It started back in 2005! From the time stamps, it's like it gets resurrected for 2 days every year or so.

As a non teacher studio owner I am now required to pay $50 per year for the SO private board. I notice there have been a lot of responses of $10 once only fee - if this was changed then I think the once only Teachers Private Board will also change as it has done with the SO forum.
I am in the early stages of setting up my dance school & the information from this forum has been invaluable. I would hope my $50 per year subscription would also cover me for the Teachers subscription - I am not a teacher but I get a lot of useful information from this site as well.
my 2cents worth thanks

I know this is an old sticky - but as it has never been resolved I still think it's ok to put in our two cents. My two cents is that I would LOVE to have a private board. I don't care if it would cost $ or not.