Monthly Archives: December 2015

One of the true gifts of teaching is the opportunity to become a mentor. These students are so racing through the doors from entrance to exit of high school that there is barely time to learn their names let alone be certain you have had any impact with them. Mentoring is a way, at least for me, to slow the pace down a bit, grab a student off the treadmill and have some one-on-one time. I find that the most valuable part of mentoring is to connect the work they are doing in the classroom with the work that they are doing in thier life (a work of getting to know themself, working to see their image in the mirror, and do some serious dreaming about the future). Mentoring is a way of moving into this track WITH them. Read more →

In my admittedly novice attempt to keep with social media, I have been discovering how so many individuals are posting lists of “gratitudes” as a way of getting their life ready for the big holiday season. I thought that was a great idea. I feel very blessed – in my home world AND I feel very blessed to work at Douglas Anderson – a great place and even greater kids in an environment that doesn’t judge and fosters new approaches and new ways of thinking. I would like to follow suit. I would like to commit the next set of blogs before Christmas to all of the things I am grateful for as the addict to a theatre classroom Read more →

At the age of 57 I am approaching what is likely the final seven years of teaching. Apart from the whole mortality thing, it is hard to believe that I need to begin accumulating the final seven productions of my high school career. Since I started teaching, I always had this special pile on my shelf – normally by the peanut butter and trail mix – where I would keep a pile of plays that, as I read – I thought – well, that’s one I should be considering for the future. Read more →

I may be prejudiced but I feel that in theatre we work with THE most remarkable teenagers in the world! In what other teenage world are they being asked to pull together their brief time on the planet and be accountable and more conscious of all that is going around them, the choices that they have made, and the all-important consequences. They are daily asked to discard the most valuable protection they have – the all-important mask! Now, they cannot proceed without owning the reasons behind everything they do. We discuss feelings. We go to dark places and feel comfort – or least tolerance for those that are different. We get closer to the inside than any other high school pursuit! There is no teacher’s edition of what we do – not even a sense of true and false. We are ultimately vulnerable. Those who can leave the most behind are the ones most likely to move forward. I love these students and their herculean endeavor. In that we will never realize the destination, I love journey with them. Read more →