Testimonials

Favorite Testimonials

A. Braden, 5^th Grade Teacher, McFerran Preparatory Academy

“Hi. My name is Angelette Braden. I'm a 5^th grade teacher at McFerran Preparatory Academy. When I first heard about Success for Life Ballroom, I was excited. I talked to my husband about it. I talked to my students about it, and they were like, “um, I don't want to dance with my classmates.”

At the beginning, it seemed like it was difficult for the kids to be able to touch one another, and now when I look at them, it just brings tears to everyone's eyes, even the parents! We've had parents cry to see that their kids are dancing together, and all the dance steps and techniques that they've learned. They've been just thrilled about it! Each week the kids look forward to dancing with one another.

They have taken lead positions. We've had students who were very shy at the beginning. Now they want to try out and compete in dancing, so I think that this has been a great opportunity for our students here at McFerran Preparatory Academy.

In the classroom, they learn to respect one another when someone has the floor to speak. They know that it's their turn to respect them, to wait their turn and raise their hand. This has really helped them to be able to be respectful to each other.”

E. Aberli, 5^th Grade Teacher, McFerran Preparatory Academy

“Hi. My name is Emily Aberli. I work at McFerran Elementary. When I first heard about the ballroom dancing, I was very, very excited. I was in a PD meeting downstairs with our principal, and she told us we were going to be participating in this ballroom dancing. I was so happy! I had actually seen a movie on TV about the ballroom dancing. It was 5^th grade--how wonderful they were, the attitude change, the behavior change...

Once we started, it was funny because in the very beginning when we would say “ok, we're going to ballroom!” “OH NO!!!” But now, when we say “Oh goodness, something happened and we're not gonna get to go to Ballroom...”, they are so disappointed. They LOVE ballroom dancing! They can't wait to get there every week. They love the instructors.

It has changed the behavior in the classroom. They respond to each other differently. They don't bicker and fight, especially between girls and boys as much. When partnering up and working in groups, it's not a big deal to have the boys and girls working together. They speak to each other differently. It is more respectful. They just seem to be able to relate to each other better, and understand that everyone's a human being.”

PRINCIPAL

Carol Miller, Principal, McFerran Preparatory Academy

“Carol Miller, Principal at McFerran Elementary. I'd like to take a moment to share my thoughts on the ballroom dancing project that we've been fortunate to participate in this year at McFerran. When I first heard of the idea and saw the video from Oklahoma, I was very excited about the potential it had at McFerran.

However, the project has far exceeded any expectation I had. It is truly amazing to watch the children take on the project and take such pride in the skills they have learned in terms of dancing. But even more so, it fit in with what we constantly teach and go over around here, and that is treating people with respect, honor, and dignity. And they tied that in beautifully.

But to watch those children, 5^th graders, move to a different level, and to be able to demonstrate poise and confidence and interaction with the other sex, that has probably been the most critical piece for me. That had been something we had been working on, because that's an awkward age with 5^th graders! We move from the stage where we hate boys and hate each other, to actually demonstrating respect, and so much of the music today demonstrates disrespect for women and how you treat women, so I have just been so pleased.

And I've had so many wonderful comments from my parents who were so proud when they saw their children up on the stage dancing, and they actually said to me, “I never believed my child could do something like that, and it brought tears to my eyes.”

So I think what we've done is opened up a whole new world and have set higher expectations for our students, and I certainly think they have achieved those expectations.”

I learned to be a gentleman by being patient and letting the lady do things first. Another thing I learned was how to be respectful to each other and listen carefully. The most important thing I learned was to respect each other and get along without fussing and playing around. Just respecting each other. Sincerely, Terrell

I really think respect and honor and dignity helped me because everybody was rude to me, and I was rude until (the instructors) taught me honor and dignity. Sincerely, Jamari

I know if we were sitting in our classroom learning about respect, honor, and dignity, we would not even care, but you found a way to make it fun, and I think we have learned much quicker. I learned that if you want someone to respect you, you must respect them. I hope that next year we apply respect, honor, and dignity to ourselves and others in middle school, and for the years to come. Your very grateful student, Kennedy Ridenour