Receiving this good news also shook up the carbonation in my noggin that's always on at least a low fizz when it comes to the topic of teaching and learning. First, I clearly do not think that there's one right way to teach a subject. Au contraire. Good teachers are always learning, every single day that they teach. We learn about how many ways there are to come at a theme or topic, how many ways our students make our teaching their own, and what a delightful challenge it will always be to create an atmosphere of inquiry and dialogue, challenge and safety, each and every day one gets together with students.
In the first month of my conservatory training at the Amsterdam Theaterschool, the twelve students in my newly admitted class were offered a roadmap for the coming years. Each of us chose to embark on a four- or five-year program, depending on which diploma one was seeking. The eleven others all chose a degree in performance in four years. I chose a dual degree in performance and theater education in five. (I suddenly recall the gratified looks I then got from my wonderful teachers. Probably not too different from the happy face I no doubt make when I hear that yet another of my former students has decided to become a teacher!)
Getting into that school was one of the great blessings in my life. First, it was, as are most conservatories, an intensive 5- or 6-day-a-week full-time experience. My teachers were all masters in their fields: acting, mime, voice, ballet, modern dance, martial arts, gymnastics, circus arts, and even one who specialized in Space. In addition, in my 4th and 5th years I got to experience three amazing mentored internships where I learned so much about applying my hard-won skills. Each internship started out as a six-week experience and each one grew into a six- or eight-month experience. The third was at the huge state psychiatric hospital where they offered me a full-time job as I received my MFA.
In one way, returning to California was a letdown. The system here, as in most states, has it that there is no teaching credential in Theatre Arts. Drama teachers are, by and large, English teachers who decide to take on teaching theater. Those who are gifted (like my Caitlin) will do just fine. But I don't think that our education system should play roulette when it comes to giving children and teens formative exposure to theater arts. I remember that at my top-notch high school in the '60's our Drama teacher spent 70% of the time with history and the reading of plays. And because he was the de facto director of the school plays and musicals, though I always had fun, we never touched on the physical and vocal possibilities that make creating theater so exciting and vital for young people.
I want to see some respect for my profession. I like teaching English and do it well, but I'm NOT an English teacher. Performing arts education is sensory and right-brained, calls for constantly dipping into one's imagination, and demands a clear understanding not only of the physical and vocal aspects of all performing arts, but also of the pedagogy of teaching all kinds of students. Planning a course and then the day-to-day manner of bringing that course to life requires its own kind of artfulness. (By the way, there are teaching credentials in Art and Music, although I cannot testify to how high the bar is set for those aspiring to teach these two vital subjects.)
three cheers for all teachers and their three best friends:
knowledge skills understanding