Secondary skype call this week
A reminder that the next skype discussion for secondary specialists will be held this week – Thursday 25th October (NOT 25th November as previously rumoured!)
Gaenor Stoate will be hosting the call and she has a really interesting idea for the discussion focus. She wants to talk about issues of continuity in the Mantle / drama classroom. That is, how do we as teachers minimise the impact of absenteeism, exclusions and other interruptions within a sustained drama experience….?
I know this has been an issue for several of our experienced secondary mantlers – and I’m sure the beginner teachers amongst us will have ideas to share too.
If you would like to register for this call (which will take approximately one hour) please contact Gaenor by email: gaenor_s@hotmail.com
Dear Gaenor,
I was wondering of you found that in using drama/MoE the impacts on absenteeism had been very positive in itself? We are pursuing the question as to whether absenteeism actually goes down in drama classes because people use it in their work. However in the matter of what to do when young people are absent in dramatic work, I have found that keeping resumes can be useful in the form of still films on cameras as well as starting sessions with ‘what happened last week’ images. For us the main issue is to tackle what the problem is with secondary schooling itself, as the matter of absenteeism is bigger than the drama studio where youngsters often feel at home and in a sanctuary. Another one of the main issues is that drama courses are seen only as a peripheral for other teachers and ‘not as worthy’ as say English/Science etc….again its about the value of secondary schooling and old ingrained habits, values and attitudes.
Would love to discus more and look forwards to the debates your question raises.
Thanks, Luke- the resume idea is great, as is the keeping of visual records for continuity. I have observed that some senior students will ‘come in for drama’ even if they are absent from other lessons, possibly because of an innate concern about supporting the group. On the other hand, I have also observed students’ work grinding to a halt because of inconsistent attendance from one member- and complicated further when recasting is not possible, because all other students are engaged in their own groups. Time constraints often prevent devised drama, for example, from being reworked by a group to compensate for group members who miss part or all of the process. We’ll hopefully have a good chat tomorrow night with the cluster group – and I would love to continue the discussion with you after the others have shared their thoughts. 🙂