by Alisa Rasera, Luna Teaching Artist

As if my respect and awe of the job description of those caring for and guiding students in schools wasn’t already super high, it has been exceeded in this new school year by how I have witnessed teachers handle the needs of a middle school girl who has had 11 seizures since the first day of school. Two of these disconcerting moments happened during dance. After it happened more than once I began to wonder if it was something in the curriculum setting them off! I witnessed some chaos, fast thinking/reacting and ultimately how the teachers and staff needed to shift all attention to the needs of this young girl. As a dance teaching artist, we often feel shut out of the day to day happenings and information that is known amongst school faculty. However, when it involves the well -being & health of a student, I should hope we are invited to the conversation as trusted, caring adults. After the second incident, I was made privy to understanding the protocol.

It was emotional for me. I showed up with dance curriculum that I was excited to teach and then minutes into the exploration, a child’s body breaks down and cries for help. Realizing that between the multiple para-professionals in the room, classroom teacher, nurse and administrators, my unassumed role was to figure out how to hold the rest of the students (whether in dance class structure or other) outside of the dance space, keep anxiety from rising and  keep them safe. Also on a personal level, I wanted to feel secure that someday when I send my daughters to school, that they would be lovingly cared for and safely kept by those I was entrusting them to. It really felt emotional.

Of course, my concern for the student experiencing the seizure was at the heart of my sadness. As the paramedics arrived (both times) and took her to Children’s Hospital, I was thankful and hopeful that something that she did or heard in dance during those minutes before her body tensed up may help her to find her way back. It may not be a straight pathway, but she knows how to dance curvy and zig zag after all.