I have been living in London now for almost three months and I have to say I have loved every minute of it. I’ve been able to explore many different regions of the city, see a lot of the sites, and truly get a feel for English culture. I have been working as a supply teacher for Protocol since the beginning of October and have been to a wide variety of different schools teaching many different subjects. Although I didn’t mind teaching whatever subject I was assigned for that day (such is the life of being a supply teacher) the biggest thing I wanted to accomplish here in London was to attain a long term position, or at least some significant experience, teaching my subject: drama.
I love the dramatic arts. I took it earnestly in high school, studied it as a major in university, participated in many productions, and lastly chose it as my primary teachable subject. It’s hard for me to put my finger on the exact reason why I love to be in drama…there’s too many reasons and would take too long to explain in this post alone. What I really want to talk about is what it means to be a drama teacher.
As some of you might have read before, I posted to Protocol’s blog my thoughts on funding the arts in schools. I truly believe that it is a vital subject for students to have because it taps their creative tendencies in many different ways. It challenges them to be able to speak confidently in front of their peers, to exchange ideas, work effectively in groups, and have an outlet for their emotions. I know from experience the release that being in drama can give to a student and how it can become a focus for students suffering from many different learning disabilities. I could go on and on but feel free to peruse my previous post on the subject to get a more rounded idea.
I’ve recently been placed in a long term position as a drama teacher at Cheam High School in Sutton. I have had the most wonderful time at this particular school so far and everything that I’ve been looking forward to as a drama teacher have already become to materialize. I mostly have Year 7 and 8 classes which I’ll admit is both a blessing and a bit of a curse. They are very young kids and so enjoy getting up, working together and creating scenes. However, they are also full of energy which equals a lot of noise and running around but reminding them of the safety factors involved in such behaviour will calm them down to a more manageable level. Leading the classes in this scene work has been loads of fun. For students so young it becomes important to establish the concepts of scenes, characters, themes, etc. After they grasp these basic building blocks they will be able to readily comprehend the more complicated aspects of performance. As a result, these years do a serious amount of scene work.
There’s something oddly satisfying about the distinct lack of paper in a drama classroom. The students are forced to get up, move their bodies, speak, and exchange ideas with one another while working on their scenes. It’s an intangible but highly creative atmosphere and as a teacher I can swim through their varying ideas as I move from group to group in order to facilitate their work. A drama teacher has a unique ability to be able to model the skills and techniques for their students to imitate at first and then build on in their own performances. You approach it from their own level without desks or chairs separating you. There’s no board to write on or pens and paper passed out. It’s a wonderful atmosphere that only the teachers of the arts can know.
Another wonderful part of being a drama teacher is the ability to become involved in extracurricular productions for the school. At Cheam right now they are working on a production of “Bugsy Malone” due for presentation in March. It’s a musical in collaboration with the music and dance departments. As a teacher coming in I was keen to get involved as much as possible and for a production of this scale there was lots of areas in need. It’s a wonderful process to be a part of a school theatre production as a teacher. You work with these students on many different technical skills, you help them refine their performance abilities and understanding, and you practice them with practical work in the classroom. While this is true of many different subjects it usually stops here. With drama we have the unique ability to put these skills to use in a productive way that gives students the types of experiences that constitute working in theatre as a profession. They get more practical experience and it’s also just a lot of fun. It doesn’t even have to be drama teachers or students who get involved. Productions come in all shapes and sizes and it’s more encouraging to see students who don’t normally take drama to participate and gain those valuable skills that the subject can provide. For all of the teachers out there reading this, I urge you to try and get involved in a drama production in your school if you can. Even if it’s only ever once I can guarantee you that you will have fun, you will get a fabulous opportunity to bond and get to know your students outside of the classroom, and you might even find a love for an aspect of theatre that you didn’t even know you had.
I feel blessed to be where I am in teaching right now. It’s not a permanent position and I will eventually have to go back to supplying until the next opportunity rolls around but as a newly trained teacher these are the types of experiences I want. I would like to continue working in drama as a teacher and performer/designer for many years and it’s these experiences that will help lead to that. I look forward to the coming weeks in my classrooms and sharing some of those stories with you.
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