Another satisfying day at Jordan…I felt very supported today – supported by the students, Kori and especially Amy, Vera and Jaynie when they arrived at our class. It was really nice to be reminded that we are part of a bigger support system while we were working in the context of our classroom. So far, we have only discussed our experiences in our Friday meetings, so it became more tangible that what we are teaching is part of a larger vision when our ArtsBridge cohorts showed up.
I love working with the kids in smaller groups and partners. Today, we had them form small groups in which they were to develop their own, totally original character, given only a name to start with. Every group's character was within their age range (16-19), and had qualities with which they could easily relate – high school life, siblings, social issues and concerns with the opposite sex. But the kids displayed a good understanding of what would make the character stand out; One group developed a hippie/peace and love character, another was a big dumb jock, another was a tagger/ graffiti artist, a romantic pretty boy, etc. Then we had the students move into partners, so that one representative from each character group was paired with a different character. With their new partner, they had to write a new scene, establishing the characters' relationship and the setting. We had a great mix of dramatic and funny scenes. And again, like on the improv day, got a glimpse into what issues are prevalent in their reality. One partnership performed a scene where one of them was visiting the other one in juvenile hall. In another scene, one character came upon the other while he was in the middle of tagging the side of a wall. I also tried to mix them in a way so that outgoing students who were comfortable onstage were working with kids who aren't always so eager to get up in front of the class – so that one student sort of pushed the other to perform, which seemed to work out well.
One of my concerns is how to deal with inappropriate subject matter in the scenes that the kids come up with. A couple of them often curse, or they end up talking about drugs, etc. in their scenes, and I'd like to steer them away from these themes for obvious reasons. At the same time, I feel like it would be naïve to just shut down their ideas and force them to write a scene based on one of my own ideas. I want to encourage their independence, creativity, individual voice, and provide a safe space for them to talk about these issues, but I'm not sure to what extent its appropriate for me to humor them before I say what is or is not okay. I'm sure Kori and I could talk more about this, but I was wondering how other people have reacted to this kind of subject matter in their classes – even if it's just conversations they overhear. How do we set a good example without seeming righteous and preachy?
1 comment:
Jena:
It was indeed amazing to think about how after all of this time has passed in preparation that he you are teaching - looking, acting, and being a teacher. ;o) It is a amazing to witness this and I am humbled by it. I agree with your concern about subject matter. You could indeed guide this a bit more. At the same time, it is informative to listen to them and their choices. Did you notice their character traits they listed? "Character A is from South Central. He is tall and smart. He is shy." and then they would add in things like "he is a pimp." The scene about how the pimp was changed by love was funny. I hope that you are saving these drafts and scribbles so you can collect a students growth and process over the time span of the residency. Kori is so pleased with both of you. It has been amazing to witness.
Amy
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