Working

This post is from Chesley Polk pictured here on the left as the Cobbler in Open Dream's production of Big Shoes. 

Having done a few residencies now, you hear all kinds of things from the kids. You hear about their favorite colors, you hear about what their mom does for work, you hear about who was mean at recess, but you also get to hear how you are making a difference.  That's the amazing part and after our last residency at First Ward Creative Arts Academy in Charlotte, NC my teaching partner, Julianne, and I have a chance to carry it with us.  Our class has written us letters describing our week together and sharing their favorite parts.  We see they clearly remember the show and the points that are made in the script.  They discuss our vocabulary words in detail and pull from our artistic lessons in a way that make it clear to me that what we are doing is working.  These letters are also a testament to the teachers at First Ward and most teachers I have come across on our tour and residencies.  These teachers have a tough job; not only teaching a hefty curriculum, but dealing with these children from varying backgrounds and levels of learning.  When we come into the classroom we can only hope for the kind of teachers that we found at First Ward.  In addition to seeing what these kids have learned with us, we get to see them use their imaginations.  Proven in several letters, we see children be inspired to allow themselves to have a dream and hopefully inspired to chase it.

"Dear Ms. Julianne and Mr. Chesley,
I had the best time with you! I thank you for teaching us about landforms and bodies of water. Also some music.  Here are some words we learned about:  volcano, mountain, valley, presto, andante, largo, piano, forte, island, canyon, and cave. Also when we played the games magic sword and when we learned eachothers names. Thank you."

All I can say is thank you!

Vastness of Potential

This post is from Cameron MacManus pictured here playing the trombone at an Open Dream Ensemble school performance. 

Reflecting on our four days at First Ward Elementary in Charlotte, I am struck by two things: the nature of causality in the classroom and the wonderful intuitive creativity of children. 

I’ve heard that good leaders make followers believe that the leader’s objective is actually their own, and that’s certainly true in the classroom.  It has been eye-opening to see just how different the same lesson plan can play out with just a few different choices along the way.  Getting a group of students to be enthusiastic participants is usually pretty easy, but providing them with the structure and guidance to get the most learning out of the experience and work together is an art that I am just beginning to wrap my head around.  The introduction of one errant impulse and the focused energy of the classroom gets splintered in a thousand directions.  When you’ve given them all the right tools, you can feel the momentum of learning pick up and we all seem to fly through the material as a team.  The more I work with students in the classroom, the better I’m able to guide them in ways that allow excitement to be structured and productive.  I felt very fortunate to be learning and growing in this craft every day at First Ward Elementary.

The really cool thing about the students at First Ward is that very few seemed afraid to fail.  They were ready to jump in 100% and the results were often fantastic.  I’m noticing that students at a schools that emphasize the arts like First Ward have much more confidence than those at non arts-centered schools.   By allowing themselves to take chances, follow their intuition, and be creative, they are becoming aware of the vastness of their own potential.  Pretty amazing stuff!