The Spring Musical is a big deal at our school. For the past 42 years, Aspen Community School students have performed their annual event on the Wheeler Opera House stage. Grandparents fly in from out of town. Parents, neighbors, alumni, and community members fill the 400 seats to capacity for two nights. It is literally the most spotlighted event on our school calendar. An authentic student performance on stage for the entire community to observe.
The first time I saw it, my mind was blown by the whole extravaganza. What an endeavor! The script is written by a teacher, the music is performed by teachers, parents, and sometimes school alumni. Every kid in the school, Kindergarten through 8th grade, has a role. Costumes are created by the art teacher and a platoon of parent volunteers. Dance choreography is created and coached by a teacher. Sets are designed and crafted by a lead teacher, parents, and kids. Classroom teachers carve out an hour each day for rehearsals and craft lessons related to the themes of their scene. And on the night of the show, after a month of hard work and community building, the kids shine and the community celebrates. I had never seen anything quite like it.
Fast forward ten years. The musical director/playwright retired quite suddenly. Who would fill her shoes? I would! Obviously. It is dangerous to be the guy who raises his hand before thinking.
I had never taught performing arts, written or directed a musical, or even set foot on a stage up to that point, but I had been teaching and watching others teach for a while, so I knew something about how to work with kids and with groups. After the first week of rehearsals, the jitters started to sink in. I brought up my growing apprehension in a casual conversation with our school principal. “Dude! You’re a great teacher. Trust the process!”
That’s all he had to say, and I knew exactly what he meant. Our school-wide teaching philosophy at the time revolved around a venn diagram with three key elements: Relationships, Relevance, and Academic Excellence. No matter the subject, no matter the age, when teachers foster productive relationships, relevant learning experiences, and effective teaching strategies, kids will learn.
Trust the process! Build positive relationships: Greet the kids by name, show them you’re excited to see them, build trust, be authentic, have some fun. Create relevance: Relevance is embedded in any project with a final performance and an authentic audience, students just need the occasional reminder. Visualize yourself on the stage. How will you present yourself? Hear yourself speak those lines. Picture your costume. Feel the rhythm of your dancing. Think back to last year’s show. Recall that feeling of accomplishment. Work hard today, and carry your effort onto the future stage. And utilize effective teaching strategies. Engage kids, identify the short-term goal of the day, have targeted activities at-the-ready, practice, provide feedback carefully, practice again, and build one skill at a time, gradually, with a timeline in mind.
Fast forward ten years. The musical director/playwright retired quite suddenly. Who would fill her shoes? I would! Obviously. It is dangerous to be the guy who raises his hand before thinking.
I had never taught performing arts, written or directed a musical, or even set foot on a stage up to that point, but I had been teaching and watching others teach for a while, so I knew something about how to work with kids and with groups. After the first week of rehearsals, the jitters started to sink in. I brought up my growing apprehension in a casual conversation with our school principal. “Dude! You’re a great teacher. Trust the process!”
That’s all he had to say, and I knew exactly what he meant. Our school-wide teaching philosophy at the time revolved around a venn diagram with three key elements: Relationships, Relevance, and Academic Excellence. No matter the subject, no matter the age, when teachers foster productive relationships, relevant learning experiences, and effective teaching strategies, kids will learn.
Trust the process! Build positive relationships: Greet the kids by name, show them you’re excited to see them, build trust, be authentic, have some fun. Create relevance: Relevance is embedded in any project with a final performance and an authentic audience, students just need the occasional reminder. Visualize yourself on the stage. How will you present yourself? Hear yourself speak those lines. Picture your costume. Feel the rhythm of your dancing. Think back to last year’s show. Recall that feeling of accomplishment. Work hard today, and carry your effort onto the future stage. And utilize effective teaching strategies. Engage kids, identify the short-term goal of the day, have targeted activities at-the-ready, practice, provide feedback carefully, practice again, and build one skill at a time, gradually, with a timeline in mind.
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