EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
As humans we seem to constantly question our existence, our meaning and our passage through time. The Arts give us a creative opportunity to explore our dreams and scaffold our existence without prejudice.
As Sir Ken Robinson, international advisor on creativity and innovation states, education is stifling creativity, because we rely too much on preparing people to work, rather than to ‘think creatively’. I believe in child centred education where students are involved in learning from a hands on perspective. In Drama, students should be challenged to engage in integrated learning rather than simply be passive learners. Arts Education should be part of the fundamental backbone to the school curriculum to ensure we have creative thinkers in the future!
My teaching, especially in Drama and Theatre, revolves around the use of motivators and improvisational games that can be used to advance student learning in a fun non-competitive way. I have extensive experience in Improv having been trained by Theatresports inventor, Keith Johnstone in Canada.
In lessons, I believe it is important to ensure that there is a balance between group processing of information as well as individual expression, and each segment must be debriefed with appropriate feedback - a system which is wholeheartedly student centred. I strongly believe that service learning is another area in which students can use drama, especially through theatre in education (TIE),
to reach out to those around them and express the values that are important to our every changing society, to teach intrinsic human values - whether in-school to other/younger students or within the wider community including parents and families members.
While not a ‘digital native’ as some youth are, I am a well versed ‘digital immigrant’. I use technology widely in class especially video, both interactively for review in one to one tasks and collectively as an educational tool to demonstrate theatrical styles or for projected display in multimedia performances. I’m also familiar with online digital tools such as Twitter and Vimeo/Youtube as well as many theatre iPad apps for education, plus educational platforms such as Engage, Google Classroom/Sites, LP+, Managebac, Naviance, Office 365, PowerSchool, Turnitin, and Veracross while I also use blogging, wikis and a Theatre Instagram/Facebook group to inform and interact with my students.
My involvement in theatre both on stage as an actor and off stage in technical roles, has been an essential foundation to my years in drama teaching. Having spent many years in smaller schools with exceptional facilities, I have had the opportunity to explore technical aspects of theatre with my students from light rigging to stage construction - and this hands on approach to both technical theatre and stage acting is an important factor in developing well rounded theatre practitioners. In-service plays an important part in any teacher’s work, and my involvement has been extensive from courses in arts management, dramatic skills, theatrical styles, directing, technical theatre, video production, information technology, playwriting, curriculum and pastoral care.
As we know, the world is becoming a smaller place through the ever-expanding tentacles of technology, but the human family of this globe continues to grow in multitudes. Young people as they develop into adulthood tend to reach out to contemporary fads, forgetting the importance of their own culture, which lies within the larger framework of a diverse global people. Being international is important in this seemingly multicultural world, but so too is the identity of one’s home country and its rich tapestry of celebrations. Education should celebrate this too, and Drama is the tool to explore this ritual of life.
As an experienced teacher, I have a commitment to the ongoing formation of young people as responsible and wise adults.
I believe in a holistic curriculum, where not only sedentary academic lessons, recreation and sports are important keys, but also the opportunity to indulge in creativity and social interaction through imagination and personal expression in the Arts - where youth have an opportunity to grasp their dreams in their hands and not be afraid to present their ideas and talents to the world around them. A place where they can believe in themselves - and then when they really use their imagination in the art form - they will strive for even greater goals.
That’s the joy of educating - but more importantly the joy of educating young people through the creativity of the Arts!
(Donald) Shane Meiklejohn
2024