The first week of school. How grateful I am to a good friend and amazing teacher for allowing me to enter her classroom and start at the beginning. The plan is simple. The execution is overwhelming. The opportunity is unique. For an entire semester, I will be going in to two sixth grade classrooms once a week and teach Reading, Writing, and Social Studies using drama based curriculum...that I get to develop. It is not a requirement for obtaining certification. I was planning on doing it without any pay or course credit. Instead it will be part of in Independent Scholarship Project. We want to be great teachers, so why not take advantage of the best opportunities to develop our talents and gifts?
Up until now, the most work I have done using drama in a public school classroom was four lessons within a month time frame. This time I hope to get a glimpse of what can happen with a group of students when drama based education becomes a regular part of their lives. The student population is around 95% Hispanic, the remainder being African-American. These students were originally destined to start middle school this year, until their school failed the TAKS test and closed. Instead, they were told they will be staying at the elementary school for yet another year.
One of the most inspiring words I've heard in a long time came from this wonderful teacher. After 3 days of class, she said that she was not planning on using the literature textbook she was given because it was too difficult for her students. Instead of forcing it on them, she is coming to understand where they are in their educational journey and working towards giving these students a chance to succeed.
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