One Amazing Week...

There are times in a year when you look back at the week you just had and think about everything that has happened. All of the people you’ve met, the things you’ve seen or done, and decide whether or not that week deserves a thumbs up or a thumbs down. This past week definitely gets a gigantic thumbs up, one of the best since I’ve been in London so far. A lovely time in the classroom, amazing moments working on the musical, and social events galore dedicated to the holiday season!

My week at Cheam definitely set the tone for the entire week by the classroom environments I’m in. The students are mostly amazing and really make it fun to teach. Some of the students are quite bright and they really surprise you sometimes with their abilities to empathize and critically think about a problem or issue that we’re tackling as a theme for scene work. It can seem a little repetitive to be teaching the same lesson to the same year groups throughout the entire week but the individual classes vary so much that each one presents its own challenges that keep me on my toes for the full hour. I have different SEN classes that require support teachers in the classroom as well as many high energy students that just want to get up and work on scenes instead of sitting and listening to an explanation. There are some behavioural issues as well (normal) with two classes in particular that cannot handle practical work because they go mental and start running around and hitting each other. It creates a very unsafe environment for the other students in the class so we’ve brought them down to written work until they can prove that they can handle the practical work safely and properly and that they can listen to instructions beforehand without being disruptive. It’s going to be a bit of an uphill battle on that one but at least it’s providing me with a challenge. I really want to be able to do practical work with them because that’s what Drama is all about and it’s how they develop their skills. I just need to get them to see that.

My Year 7’s are finishing up their unit on Bullying with a scene presentation for this coming week and my Year 8’s are going to be presenting a series of scenes about Peer Pressure. That’s one of the amazing things about these classes (and Drama in general), they use them to teach the students technical and acting skills but also get them thinking about serious issues in their lives and in the school itself. A great double whammy that the students may not even realize when they are working on it. I had to deal with a couple of instances involving some bullying as well this week and it’s interesting how the lesson can provoke a student to confide in you as a teacher when these things have happened because they recognize it through the lesson. I had a really fulfilling week and I think that I really helped some kids out this week and had a lot of fun with them too.

I love it when I can joke around in my classes and have a lot of fun with the students. Drama is all about fun and I shouldn’t feel like a giant dictator in the classroom but more of a mentor and a guide. In one of my Year 7 classes, whom I didn’t have last week because of the snow days, there was one such funny instance. I was doing the register (attendance) and when I called out a little girl’s name she asked me if I could call her “Kitty” which I assume is a nickname. This work combined with the accent made me think she was saying “Katie”. So I repeated “You want me to call you Katie?”. “No sir, Kitty” “Katie?” No, Kitty!” “Like….like a cat?” At this point the class all started laughing when I had finally figured it out. When I continued through the register I called a boy’s name to which he replied “Sir, can you call me dragon please?” To which I obviously did and he was quite happy. By the end of register I had one Kitty, a Dragon, a Gorilla, and an Old Chap in my class. The funny thing is when you have that kind of a start to a class they get completely on board with you and they were my go to kids the entire class because they participated so well. These are the types of classes that I really want to have and every one of them can be this way, it’s just a matter of getting through to the students who disrupt the lesson before t even begins.

In other news at the school the musical is starting to really get up and running. We had a rehearsal on Monday after school and ran through the blocking for Act 1 and it’s actually not too bad. The kids all seem to know what they’re doing for the most part and it’s just a matter of polishing the scenes up after we’re back in the New Year. I ran a character development workshop on Wednesday after school for the students that we there because a lot of them (mainly the younger ones) are having a tough time being their character on stage. It’s just from a lack of experience in the subject and on the stage so I’m working with a lot of them to get them thinking about how they can really be somebody else on stage and have the audience believe in it too. The kids really enjoyed it and apparently called me a “legend” to Lucy after I had already left that evening. I love doing these types of things as well because it allows me to use my experience in the theatre as an actor to direct the students from a production standpoint. I got really into it and it seemed like they were having a fun time too. They were laughing a lot which is always a good sign, especially in character and scene work. If they’re not having fun then they’ll start to lose interest so it’s about creating a positive environment for them to enjoy the work that they’re doing and it will show on stage when they finally do perform it. I’ll be going through the same workshop again on Monday for the students that missed out on Wednesday and I’ll also be creating a handout for the kids to read through and refer to when they are learning their lines over the holidays (hopefully).

This week Protocol also hosted a couple of Christmas related social events in London for teachers as well as consultants. On Wednesday evening the Secondary Consultant Team hosted a drinks night at a pub local to the Protocol offices on Chancery Lane. There was a relatively small group of us but I had the chance to meet a bunch of different consultants that I’ve talked to many times over the phone when I’ve called in for work. I’ve never been able to match a voice to a face before and it was nice to be able to actually sit down and chat with them outside of work hours. They are all quite pleasant and were keen to know how my placement at Cheam was going. It was also nice to get to thank them all for the help they have given me since my arrival in the UK and in getting me set-up with the job. A very pleasant evening indeed.

On Thursday night Protocol hosted a Christmas dinner at the Slug and Lettuce just off of the Strand in London. The dinner was absolutely delicious, I had turkey with parsnips, broccoli, brussel sprouts, potatoes, and sausages. The dessert was Christmas pudding with custard which was also quite delicious. I had the chance to meet quite a few people there and made some connections for over the holidays to meet up with some people who are sticking around. I also bumped into Laura and Alisha (whom I met at the Ale Trail a couple weeks previous) and had a great time chatting with them. I ended up winning a trip through a draw at the end of the night as well! I have a choice between two different two day trips to Wales or a trip all through Oxford, Cotswolds, Bath, and Stonehenge. I’m not sure which one I’ll choose but it’s pretty cool that I won!

Friday night I ended up heading into the city to The Porterhouse in Covent Garden with my flatmates for drinks before Brittany headed back to Canada. We spent a good chunk of time at the bar, which had a live band playing covers for a little while, and then headed back to Colliers Wood to hit up the Tup until closing time. On Saturday I met up with Laura and Alisha in London to go see a performance of “Deathtrap” at the Noel Coward Theatre. It was a really enjoyable show and one of the performers was Jonathon Groff of “Spring Awakening” and “Glee” fame. I won’t get into too much detail with that because I’m going to be writing a review sometime during the week but it was very good. Afterwards we went out for dinner and drinks and made plans to meet in Camden on Sunday to walk through the markets.

Overall, quite the packed and enjoyable week. I have to buckle down for this week but it should go by relatively quickly because everyone wants to get through the day to get to the end of the week. Jeremy’s going to be arriving on Sunday the 19^th and spending the holidays straight through to January 3^rd. I’m really looking forward to that and being able to see and do and bunch of stuff in the city. I have to get through this week first!! Until then…

Cheers and Love

Erik