Why didn't we get to do that?!

Next Friday, I start my first day of work as a full-time teacher. So many emotions, but mostly right now I feel excitement. In a year that many of us wondered if we'd even get a job, I got my dream job. Once upon a time I wanted to start a performing arts program for at-risk youth. This year I will be the first theatre teacher at a school for drop-out prevention and credit recovery.

Today I spent a few hours working on my classroom. While walking through the hallway I noticed an open administrator door, so I stopped by to introduce myself. While chatting with the assistant principal, two former students and graduates stopped by to visit him. I introduced myself to the two young men and told them who I was. They immediately turned to the assistant principal and said, "Hey, why didn't we get to take theatre?!"

Reaching the "Unreachable"

I promised a colleague I would write about this experience a while ago, and I am long overdue. It happened when I was student teaching at the high school.

One of my technical theatre classes was especially challenging. Many students came to class, plugged into an ipod, and closed their eyes. Some had been told that if they took the class they'd get to build things, and they'd been rebelling after a unit on playwrighting. Before I met the students, I'd selected a play by a Mexican-American playwright that involved puppets (that they would design and build) and themes of immigration that I hoped they'd relate to. Fiasco. So I threw out my lesson plans and started over. I had a pow-wow with my mentor and fabulous bilingual playwright Roxanne Schroeder-Arce. I ordered a few copies of her play, Sangre de un Ángel. It is based on the true story of a family in East Austin. Below is a brief synopsis found on the script:

"When his mother has had enough, her older son, Juan, and his family offer to take in his teenage brother, Ángel, thinking he can guide him to make stronger decisions about school and his future. Despite the efforts of a stable home and loving family, Ángel resists the help, looking to his troubled friends and their gang family for approval.

He is lured back to attending school by a caring auto-mechanics teacher who gives him responsibility and the opportunity to rebuild a classic 1957 Chevy. Eventually, Ángel begins to open up to his family and a hopeful future, but trouble follows him home when angry young men come looking for him—with a gun."

I'm pretty upfront with my students. I don't speak Spanish, but I hoped since 95% of my students did that the themes and opportunity to experience a story of their own culture and language would pull them out of their apathy and help them see that I respected them.

I only wish I would have had more time with them so we could have performed it.

As we read, some of the students started opening up about their own experiences with gangs. One young man, "R", confided in me after we had paused in our reading that he had once been in a gang. He realized that he a a responsibility to take care of his family, especially his mother, and he got out. It wasn't easy, and his former friends in the gang beat him badly. He said if he fought back, they probably would have killed him, but he took it, knowing it was the only way out. Now he goes to school 8-9 months a year, and works in the fields all summer to save money to go to community college and help his family. Much like Ángel, he liked to work on cars and hoped to go into collision repair.

Reading the script together out loud opened up some other surprises. The characters in the play speak bits of Spanish and English, and this really excited some of my students. "L" was normally very quiet or at least not participating, but when he found out some of the character were speaking spanish, quickly volunteered to read. He'd come in to class each day and shout, "I want to be Paco!" After class, he came up to me and asked, "Miss, can we read more Mexican plays?"

Each day we'd come into class, read little of the script, then talk about it. After a few days, I had a special treat for them. I asked, "How would you like the opportunity to meet the playwright and talk to her about the play?" They were in shock. I had shared with Roxanne the progress the students were making and asked if she would be willing to Skype in during class and talk with my students. She was more than excited at the idea. When the day came, the students surprised me over and over. They got really excited about asking Roxanne questions in Spanish and hearing her respond. I then asked "R" if he'd be willing to share his story with her. He was a little reluctant at first, but then went down closer to the camera and started to open up. A few minutes later, "L" got up, walked down to the front of the room, sat in front of the camera, and said matter-of-factly, "I want to tell my story." What followed none of us saw coming. He told us that he had served three months in prison...for murder. He had been at his house with some friends and fellow gang members when a group of guys came and set in motion a night that changed their lives forever. His brother got into a car and"L" climbed in and started chasing after some of them. His brother ended up killing someone with his car. "L" plead no contest and served three months in jail. His brother, the driver, will be there for a very long time. Now like, "R," he leaves the school early to work in the fields each summer and tries to steer clear from the gang life he left behind.

When we came to the end of the play we were short on people to read, so I was reading for the grandmother. I came up to a long section that was entirely in Spanish. Totally intimidated, I asked if one of the girls would switch parts with me. Before she could say anything, "L" walked up behind me and said, "It's okay miss, I'll help you." One line at a time he would read it in Spanish, and I would repeat it. Sometimes as teachers we think we need to know everything, or as members of a community we think teachers should always be the experts. How empowering it was for him when he got to be the expert.

Challenging Assumptions

Last week I taught at a middle school summer program. At the end of one of the classes, I asked my students what they thought about me when they walked into class.

White. Rich. Mean. Racist.

How long did it take to change their perspective? Less than an hour. For some, less than five minutes.

One of the most important aspects of being a theatre educator is the opportunity to take a drama based approach. In drama, it's not about the final performance for the audience, it's about those involved in creating the art. It's about giving them space to share their voices and their stories.

As the students came into class, they got on the subject of some type of dancing I had never heard of before.

"Show me. Can you teach me?"

And at that point the change began. After that, we could do some ensemble building activities and then went on after that to talk about some of their experiences. They are amazing kids. They have so much to say and so much to share. They were so afraid I would be just like "everyone else" that they did the same thing to me that they don't want others to do to them.

Give them five minutes. See who they really are.

Student Teaching: No...and I'll tell you why

Today my 6th period tech class was especially chatty. Not so helpful when you are trying to read through a script out loud in class. It wasn't working in their seats, so I had them come to the front of the room and sit on the floor together in a circle. One of the first students to sit down turned to me, a little frustrated and asked:

"Can't we just get rid of the people we don't like?"

My heart sank. I know there are teachers out there that feel that way. But that entire line of thinking is so dangerous.

So I posed the question to the class, and asked them, "What happens when we decide to get rid of people we don't like?"

I then told them of a time, much like ours, when the economy was in shambles, people were out of work, and many were looking for someone to blame. The result?

Six million Jews murdered in concentration camps...and that was only a fraction of the total loss of life.

We went on to talk about how the same issues exist around us today. It sounds like a simple solution. Get rid of the unwanted elements in your world at it will be better.

But who gets to decide who and what is unwanted?

Can we get rid of the people we don't like?

No...because what seems like a small decision now can grow into something we regret.

Student Teaching: Expectations

Once again, today I was reminded of the importance of celebrating the small victories. I've got a few students who can be uncooperative at times, and I'm learning to make adjustments to create lessons that students will enjoy, relate to, find relevant, and learn something from. I was upset toady when a few students said about another student, "He's not going to do anything. He's a bad kid. He never does anything." It's upsetting when teachers place low expectations on students. It bothered me even more that it was coming from his peers. And yes, he did end up doing something.

My earlier tech class was floundering a little this morning. I have a student in there, R, that I have even made the mistake of labeling as "never does anything" at times. I tried to let that go today, and hope for the best from everyone. As the students got a little bored and distracted, I realized I needed to change something. I also realized that not only had I had not figured out everyone's name yet (it's the last class I've taken over), but they still were not sure of each other. Time to build a little more community. I've played name tag with my other classes to learn names, but I hadn't played it with this class. So I told them we were done with that and asked them to come to the front of the class and get in a circle. I ignored the students who didn't move and are normally hesitant to participate. And by hesitant I mean they put on their headphones, close their eyes, and check out.

Today, however, had one of those brief moment of magic.

First, one of the other students got up and joined us on his own. I looked up, and noticed that R was in the back of the room, watching intently what we were doing. He started laughing along with other students when someone got out. He sat up higher in his chair to see better. Finally he climbed over the chair in front of him, walked up to the front of the room, and found a place in the circle.

I couldn't help beaming.

Yes, there was still one student that decided to stay where he was. Yes, much of the class period the students struggled to stay on task or fought doing anything. Yes, teaching is hard and filled with disappointment.

However...

We live for those moments when our students decide they want to be a part of something...like the world around them.

Student Teaching: Don't let it go to your head

Last week I had a few really great moments:

After a really good session with one of my classes, I ran into one of my students in the hallway at lunchtime. I said hi, and she responded saying, "Miss, can we do more of that tomorrow?"

My cooperating teacher heard one of my students whisper to another as they walked out of the room after class say, "That was bad-ass."

Then on Friday, I reminded the kids I would only be here for two more weeks before I went to another school. They shouted, "No! Don't leave! We like you better."

My students have come a long way....

But you can't let it go to your head.

They're teenagers. It's in their nature. They exist in an emotional hormonal amusement park. So when Valentine's Day comes around, or prom, or teenage life in general, you shouldn't be surprised when all of the sudden all bets are off, discipline breaks down, and they just don't like you very much.

It's just Monday.

And you will make it through this.

P.S. A follow on on my 6th period student that a few weeks ago didn't want to write his script and seemed really unhappy. You can read about him here.

Final typed scripts were due today. He walked in to class with a smile on his face, told me he finished it, and gave me a fist bump. :)

Student Teaching: Flexibility

Losing a day is not the end of the world. Neither is letting go of your carefully laid plans.

I had planned out three weeks of student directing projects. 15 students, 5 directors a week, 2 character scenes. Start rehearsals Monday, perform on Friday.

Friday was a great rarity in the state of Texas. A little bit of ice and our schools shut down. One day lost. Performances postponed. Math benchmark testing on Wednesday. Another day will be lost.

I looked at what had been happening in rehearsals and noticed that the students were trying to copy behavior of other directors they had seen in the past, and not applying principles we had introduced in class. I needed to throw out parts of my model and really focus on whether or not the students could understand and apply good principles of directing theatre. The result? A much more effective way of teaching and learning. Below is a link to my lesson plan, which I have added to my Lesson Plans page. I hope to continue to develop it, and spend more time with them tomorrow helping them let go of what they thing they are supposed to do.

I found that as I let go of how I thought I needed to do things, I too realized that there was a better way. Looks like I'm getting the same lesson my students are. :)

Directing in Action Lesson Plan, Day 1