As I prepare to meet with the students at Parker Elementary I'm a little nervous, this is normal for me though. The best way I battle anxiety is to get organized. I have more than one outline or lesson plan/syllabus and I'm excited to share improv exercises and writing prompts but most of all I simply want to connect with the students. The goal is to make sure that I make an impact and get them interested.
I want the students to improve in the following areas:
Reading, Writing and Presenting
The power of positive thinking, breath and visualization
S/heroes or Honoring Legacy
Effective/ Clear Communication/ Aggressive vs Assertive styles
Managing their confidence level and emotions
I will be working with different age groups and for me this will be a study on who I prefer to work with. I love to improvise my lesson plans too but the goal is to resist that. So I can perfect a great line up or get them use to a familiar structure. I want them to get some work written, memorized and/or read. I also want to consider any advice I was given at their appropriate age during each visit.
My focus will always be the importance of self-control if the participants get unruly and I will remind them that life is about having fun and being serious. So we may have them sign up accordingly. I will ask them to bring in monologues they are working on or their favorite poems next week, the poem needs to be 14 lines or less.
I want to introduce myself through poem with a piece called "Copasetic" and I'll end by performing "Poetree" at the end and focus on the word connection. My biggest concern is not having enough time to prepare for a real presentation or create a decent publication. I also know that I'm working with kids who live in a high crime area. So I don't want to make to many promises I can't keep. If I leave and at least one child sees art as a way to heal and hopefully prevent violence. We all win.
Venus, I'm so happy to see that you took this opportunity as a way to figure out which demographic you most want to work with. I think that was a great way to approach it. I also appreciate your honesty here about being nervous and getting organized to help combat that.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about the "decent publication" you mention. Are you trying to do something other than the CTP anthology that we will produce at the end?
Obviously, due to time constraints, this will be published after your workshop, but you can still take copies to your participants.
Yes. We all win when kids are given tools to help them overcome horrible situations. I think what you are doing is both brave and much needed.
KEEP PUSHING ON...
Kiala,
DeleteI forgot to address your question about the "decent publication" Yes, Audacious wants me to publish whomever I choose for CTP but she and I agreed that it would be nice to do something separate, as well. Because one question I'm wondering about is one student is writing a play and she wants to be published but I can't remember if we have a line limit. Do we and if so what is it? Thanks again...
Venus
Hey Venus,
ReplyDeleteSo much about teaching young adolescents, I have learned, is about performance! Its important to have a plan, yes, but that improvisational spirit, back by the love that you carry I think can be your tools. Its smart to use performance to introduce yourself, as you have such a strong and compelling voice.
In terms of managing "self-control," with the age group, I've learned that planning should include segments where every single child should be involved with a meaningful activity, each second. If they are listening to someone perform, they should be taking notes for example. If they are writing a piece, give them a list of goals they should check off as they work, and then a process for revision if they are done early.
I'm sorry I didn't respond sooner but I hope this becomes useful!
Rosa
Rosa,
DeleteOh I just learned how to reply properly. I replied to other comments you made Rosa. So do look for them. I appreciate your responses and I think your suggestion about having them be involved in a task while watching the presentations is EXCELLENT I will be borrowing that my dear. I'll let you know how it goes because....they get antsy sometime. LOL
Rosa, I love the idea of encouraging note-taking or having a writing goal-list/check-list for all ages! Sometimes I wish someone would give me a check-list :).
DeleteKiala,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your response Kiala. I'm working in an after school program so students leave early sometime. Although they signed up for the program I didn't make it mandatory that they stay until 6pm. This is when being flexible can be detrimental to progress. In the future I would probably requests that they have pick ups after six. I enjoy working with both boys and girls currently but I noticed one of the boys was worried when he was the only boy left in the room. It's that age where they begin to tease each other even more. Which reminded me of my goal of addressing bullying and aggressive communication. So next session it will be at the center of our discussion and improv skits.
i think rosa makes a good point, which is that even though it's important to have a plan (and it may make you feel less anxious), the most important thing is that you have to be involved in the present moment, in the classroom. you can't let a plan constrict you, but you also can't go in there spouting off random thoughts. it really sounds to me, venus, that you're actually approaching this with a good attitude.
ReplyDeleteVenus, I bet it's really interesting to work with the same material with a variety of age-groups. Especially in a school-setting, where age-stratification will likely produce groups that have distinctly different ways of engaging with the material. It strikes me that it would be an interesting project to give the same (or similar) workshop to both teachers and students at a school.
ReplyDelete