MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
In this podcast, you will hear from educators and professionals in the field sharing their insights and experiences in the HPE (Health Physical Education) and allied fields. I hope you find this podcast informative, and inspiring. Learn about best practices and tools that you can implement in your teaching practice. We want to know not only what you do, but also the action steps you took to get you where you are. The Status Quo is not in our vocabulary folks, my guests are leaders in the field who are taking action to make an impact in their respective fields. If you have any questions or would like to be a guest on the show email mahperdpodcast@gmail.com
"If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got" Henry Ford
MAHPERD "Voices From The field"
From Dance Studio to Third Grade: A Teacher's Journey
When passion meets purpose, learning transforms. Tiana's story begins at sixteen, teaching ballet, tap, and jazz to preschoolers and special education dance classes—experiences that kindled her love for teaching long before formal education training. Now teaching third grade in East Hartford, Connecticut, she brings this dance background directly into her classroom through strategic movement breaks that help students regulate emotions and refocus their energy throughout the day.
What makes Tiana's story compelling is her commitment to creating learning environments where academic risk-taking is celebrated. "A classroom should be inclusive and loving," she explains, describing how she encourages students to embrace mistakes as essential to learning. Rather than providing immediate answers when students struggle with challenging concepts like multiplication, she facilitates peer support—sometimes through whispered hints between friends—fostering both independence and community.
The magic happens when these philosophies intersect with real student needs. Tiana shares the touching transformation of a student who arrived from El Salvador unable to read, write, or speak much English. Through genuine care and intentional relationship-building, this initially anxious child blossomed into a confident learner who loved coming to school. Beyond her classroom, Tiana balances teaching with roles as a choreographer and representative for the National Academy of Health and Physical Literacy, embodying her own advice: "Work hard, do what you love, and make memories."
Connect with Tiana:
tianaboccuzzi@gmail.com
Hello and welcome to Voices from the Field, a MAHPERD podcast where we talk with educators in the field to hear about their perspectives and experiences. My name is Jake Bersin, advocacy Chair for MAHPERDd, and today I have the pleasure of speaking with Tiana Bocuse Hi Tiana.
Tiana:Hey Jake, how are you?
Jake:Good, how are you? Thanks for joining us. So just a little bit about Tiana. Tiana Bocuse is a 2023 graduate of Central Connecticut State University, earning her bachelor's in elementary education with a focus in English. She is currently a third grade teacher in East Hartford, Connecticut. Tiana is also part of Connecticut's dance community. During her time as an undergraduate at CCSU, she was an active member of Dance Central for nine semesters and served as the company's public relations officer, vice president, local studios and working closely with the Central Connecticut State University Dance Education Program as an alumni. Welcome again, Tiana.
Tiana:Thanks so much.
Jake:It's so exciting to connect with you and thanks so much for saying yes to the podcast. Before we get started, a question I like to ask the guests is what's making you smile these days?
Tiana:Definitely the start of a relaxing summer after a really busy and hectic school year.
Jake:Relaxing. That's awesome. That's awesome. So, tiana, tell us more about who you are and how you started your education journey.
Tiana:Absolutely so. I began my education journey at a very young age when I enrolled in dance class at Jill Chase Dance Studio in Shelton, Connecticut. This led me to actually my first teaching job at 16, where I started teaching ballet, tap and jazz to preschool classes and special education dance classes, and that's kind of when I fell in love with teaching and decided to make it my career path. After I graduated high school, I attended Central Connecticut State University to study elementary education, while concentrating in English, and during my last semester of the education program I then completed my student teaching in the Eastern Hartford Public School District where I'm now hired to teach third grade.
Jake:That's great. So you're hired in the same district that you did your student teaching. That's great, yes.
Tiana:Yeah.
Jake:So follow up question about when you started teaching dance at 16. Wow, so you had all this experience before you had the formal education of college. So and that's kind of what, what, how you knew you were passionate about dance and it kind of led you to to teaching. So can you talk a little bit more about what type of dance you taught some of the students you had? Were they all different age groups? Can you go into that a little bit?
Tiana:Yeah, so when I started teaching I was 16. So I was an assistant to a few preschool classes with kind of younger dancers that had just began their journey journey as dancers. So a lot of those classes was getting them to kind of listen to someone that wasn't an adult, that's maybe at home whether it's a parent or a guardian being in class with other kids that they may not be familiar with, and then just the basic foundations of dance.
Jake:Okay, all right, so you're teaching about social skills and kind of the technical elements of the dance itself.
Tiana:Exactly yeah.
Jake:So, moving on to teaching, what are some ways you engage and support your learners?
Tiana:So that's a great question. One of my teaching philosophies is always to see my students as individuals. I meet them where they are and where they need me to be, both academically, socially, emotionally. I think that's really important in their development as a learner.
Jake:Absolutely, especially within the variety of students and backgrounds that we see. You said you're in East Hartford, right? So that's a pretty diverse area, right. A lot of them.
Tiana:Yeah, very diverse area.
Jake:Awesome. So, Tiana, how would you describe a quality classroom environment?
Tiana:A classroom environment should be inclusive and loving. It should promote students to take academic risks and know that it's OK to be wrong sometimes, because when we're wrong it promotes the most learning. I try and I try and encourage that every day.
Jake:So you're students and you're in third grade, right?
Tiana:Yes.
Jake:Can you provide, kind of putting you on the spot here a little bit, but maybe a specific example of you know, maybe some of the things you say to the students? Do you model it? Do you have any examples of students like going through this process?
Tiana:Yeah. So I feel like one of the struggles, especially in third grade, is in math. It's a really challenging year for them because it's the first time that they're introduced to multiplication and division and fractions and kind of more complex content areas that they're not really familiar with. One thing that I always said to the kids was, instead of kind of giving them the answer, giving them the easy way out, asking the class if they can kind of give their friend advice what advice can you give, so-and-so and then they work together to figure it out.
Jake:That's great. So you're kind of it's like a peer helper. You're having the students help each other. That's fantastic.
Tiana:Yeah, and I feel like I don't want to put them on the spot, so sometimes they'll head over to a friend and they'll whisper it to them, or something like that.
Jake:Oh, that's great, that's great advice.
Tiana:What is a typical teaching day look like for you? I found this funny because every day is so different, because I feel like there's always something that happens A kid loses a tooth, a kid slips on water in the classroom. It's always changing. But a typical teaching day for me is kind of rigorous academic effort but also tons of fun. I love to joke around with my students and remind them that learning is supposed to be fun, even during the times where it's most challenging.
Jake:I agree. I don't think they have to be two separate things. I think learning can be fun and challenging at the same time.
Tiana:Exactly.
Jake:So for my third grade students, because I teach elementary, as you know, a lot of them, like you said, they want to give you hugs, they want to tell you stories, they want to do all these things. What is some just going along with the question, what is a routine you have kind of like to get your students refocused or settled in?
Tiana:Do you have like an opening circle? I know different teachers do different things, yeah, so every morning they'll come in. We do morning announcements where my principal will come on via like a Google Meet, and every classroom is watching. All the students are watching. Right after that ends they'll finish up their breakfast, they'll clean up their morning work, if they have it that day, and I'll gather them on the carpet for a quick morning meeting circle. So it could be a quick check-in. It could be a silly question. It could be if someone has a really interesting story from the weekend that they want to share, kind of anything, I kind of leave it open.
Jake:So it kind of varies from day to day, but the circle format is still the same, right, but the content open. So it kind of varies from day to day, but the circle format is still the same, right, but the content varies. The routine is the same, perfect, and that's unique about the principal coming on the meet I haven't heard of that before. It's really unique.
Tiana:Yeah, the kids love it.
Jake:Very cool. Moving on to some of the student successes, can you describe a success story this year with one or more of your students?
Tiana:Sure, teaching is definitely one of the hardest jobs in the world and obviously I am a beginning teacher so I'm kind of learning as I go. But I do believe that there is a success story in every day, whether it's I taught a kid to tie their shoe or we have perfect attendance in our class. But one of my favorite success stories was this year. I had a student move from El Salvador and at the beginning of the year when she came here she couldn't really read, write or speak much English and because of that she felt really anxious coming to school. Yeah, she came in crying every day and it was really hard for her. This went on for a little while but her and I formed a really good bond and she formed a really good bond in our class with the other kids. So by the end of the school year she could read, she could write, she could write full sentences and she loved coming to school.
Jake:That's fantastic. What a great story. So, tiana, what do you think are some of the specific things that you did to enable her to be so successful? You mentioned the bonds and you forming a bond with her, but also the students forming a bond. You must have done something in your class to kind of enable that and kind of push that along.
Tiana:I mean, I'm really lucky at the school that I'm at. We have great resources. We have a family resource specialist. I had really great communication with her mom but at the end of the day I think she knew that I cared and she knew that I wanted to help her improve and to be comfortable coming to school and she deserved to make memories just like every other kid in the class.
Jake:Well said, well said Caring. I think that came through loud and clear Caring, communication and utilizing the resources that are available in the school.
Tiana:For sure.
Jake:Awesome. So in your work this year, what went really well or did anything kind of surprise you throughout the year?
Tiana:So last year I was teaching first grade. I had started the year as a building sub and then transitioned into a long-term sub until I passed my praxis, my certification exams, and then I continued on teaching first grade for the remainder of the year. This year I was placed in third grade and this is a move that I definitely knew was coming because, like I had said before, I did my student teaching at this school and I was in third grade. Said before, I did my student teaching at this school and I was in third grade and I was definitely excited about the change but pleasantly surprised with how well it went.
Jake:What do you think is the biggest similarities or differences between the first the two grade?
Tiana:levels Between first and third grade. First grade you're getting babies. They're young, they are very dependent, um, they're still little. And then in third grade they kind of are starting to develop their own independence, their own individuality, um, where they still need you and they're still dependent on you for some things, but then other things they want to do themselves and they're kind of finding their own personalities a little bit more, which I really enjoy. It's good, it's one of my favorite things to see them from the beginning of the year until the end of the year.
Jake:Right To see the growth over time. That's fantastic. So, deanna, you have a background in dance. How do you incorporate dance or a movement into the classroom with your students?
Tiana:So I try and incorporate movement every day, whether it's a whole class movement break between instruction or using it as a resource if student needs support regulating their emotions or high behaviors, high behaviors. I use some online programs that students enjoy, such as like a GoNoodle movement break or sometimes just a quick stretch behind their seats, but I try and do it a couple of times during the day.
Jake:So there's kind of variety within the day. How do you know what cues does a student give you to know that they need a movement break, Like, go ahead, Like. I mean the kids are different, so I'm curious.
Tiana:I got really good at kind of reading how they were acting, whether it was with each other and they were starting to have small little conflicts or if we're just getting ants in their pants sitting at their seat for too long. And sometimes, honestly, my kids asked, hey, can we do a quick movement break? And like let's go for it.
Jake:Yeah, they're advocating for themselves, they know they know they need it. That's fantastic, yeah. Are you involved in any initiatives outside of the school and, if so, how do you balance all your responsibilities that you have?
Tiana:I am, so I'm part of the National Academy of Health and Physical Literacy as a new professional representative for the Eastern Seaboard region. I'm also a choreographer for CCSU alumni. Finding balance is definitely a tricky thing to do. Um, finding balance is definitely a tricky thing to do, and I've um kind of been working on my time management a little bit more, so I'm not as overwhelmed with things that are going on um, but also I'm motivated because I love what I do, so that that's an extra push for me yeah, so sounds like that passion you have enables you to keep going through and balancing all the different things that you have.
Jake:So you mentioned you're a choreographer for the CCSU. Yes, how, how, how many, how often do you have? Um? What do you call them? Um? Showcases yeah, okay, yeah, is that what you call showcases? Yeah?
Tiana:yeah, so um at CCSU, dance Central and the dance education program have two large shows a year One in the fall which is dance central led it's student led for student choreographers and then in the spring we have the dance education program showcase, which is faculty run, so faculty choreographed pieces. I normally choreograph in the spring with the faculty as an alumni um and invite dancers that have gone through the program and dance central um back into the space to to dance a little more okay, that sounds cool, so a lot of our listeners are.
Jake:I could say some of our listeners might be familiar with dance but others might not be. What advice would you give to a teacher who wants to undertake dance in the PE, teacher in the health or the PE curriculum? Go for it. Go for it.
Tiana:For sure. Get yourself into a class, whether it's a beginner drop-in class, just to kind of test the waters. I think a misconception is that you have to be a dancer to go to these classes where, especially now, I'm noticing a lot of artists opening up to their classes to all movers. Doesn't matter if you've ever stepped foot in a studio or a dance class before. I would suggest taking any opportunity you can.
Jake:So there's a lot of opportunities. They just check out the local listings, check online, exactly, okay. Okay, that's good advice. Tiana, what do you hope to see in the future? What goals do you have? These could either be personal or professional.
Tiana:So one of my main goals right now is taking more technical dance classes for myself. I teach dance and I choreograph a lot, but I also think it's important to continue my learning from other local artists as well.
Jake:That's so cool. So you want to take more dance classes to improve your own knowledge, but also maybe your your your ability as well. So when you say um, technical dancers, do you have, what do you have in mind, like different?
Tiana:I've taken a lot of contemporary classes, um, and I've kind of strayed away from what I grew up with. So ballet training, tap, So I'd like to kind of get back into that and and learn a little bit more and refresh, refresh myself a little bit.
Jake:That's great. Always learning right that's important. So do you have any advice you can share with our listeners? Is there anything that you would want them to take away?
Tiana:I think my advice for anyone would just be to work hard and do what you love and make the most memories.
Jake:Well said, good advice. Good advice, tiana. Is there any way our listeners connect with you? Email, social media, anything like that?
Tiana:Absolutely yeah, listeners can reach me through email. The best email to reach me at is my first and last name at Gmail, so Tiana Bacuzzi at gmailcom.
Jake:Okay, perfect, I'll make sure to link that in the show notes.
Tiana:Awesome.
Jake:Well, Tiana, thank you so much for sharing your experience with us and expertise. It's really been great Listeners, if you have any questions, you can always email us at mahperdpodcast@ gmail. com. We'll have this episode uploaded soon. We're also asking our listeners to leave a like and review if this podcast has been helpful in supporting you in any way, as it does help other folks find out about it. Thank you all for listening. Have a great week and we will be back soon!
