Drama!

            The arts in education and how to use drama in the classroom has always been one of my greatest areas of interest. I believe that if we can build a classroom community that is centered on trust and openness, even with the teacher, and encourage students to express themselves freely in the classroom, it can go a long way to preventing interpersonal problems.

            The focus today was on drama in education. I really loved the opening warm-up, and particularly how Karen and Ann organized us into groups. I have always considered myself a little quieter, and my choices certainly reflected that. The guided meditation was really invigorating, and helped me feel calm and centered. However, I do wish that I had had the chance to experience the active warm-up as well, because it would have been nice to have several options for my future classroom (where, I guarantee, I will not have students that just want to sit and meditate!). I thoroughly enjoyed making the song in the afternoon. The experience helped me bridge language barriers with some of the other students, and sharing a laugh and frustration over the correct word choice was a bonding experience that helped us grow closer. I am so grateful for this opportunity that it just seemed like a bonus we made a good song!

The hardest part of the day’s activities for me was definitely the morning role-playing activity on bullying. As a child I was bullied (as I think every child is these days), so being the victim was hard, but being the bully was such a valuable experience as it allowed me to engage with and feel sympathy for the choices that bullies make. My group finished the activity quite quickly and then engaged in a valuable discussion about why we think that bullies act the way they do, and what we can do as teachers in the classroom to prevent this. One person made the point that it can be the teacher that causes the problem, because we sometimes forget the influence we have on our students and if we are disdainful or treat a student poorly, the other students will follow suit. This is something I have seen in my schools and classrooms, and is something that I never want to knowingly do to a student.