2 responses to ELT in Images – the performance artist

1. Sara Hannam says:

   July 17, 2009 at 8:17 am

   Hi Lindsay.

   I can see why Jeremy made the comparison. There is an element of performance in teaching and those teachers who have studied drama often incorporate some of those techniques in their classroom in very useful ways. Drama workshops can share many similarities with dynamic EL lessons in terms of pace and types of activities etc. There are also nerves before a new class (well for me anyway – educational stage fright?) and the rush of adrenaline which is so fantastic after a class just goes brilliantly. And disappointment when it doesn’t.

   Personally I don’t feel I am that different inside and outside the classroom though or at least I try not to be cos I want to have “real” relationships with my students (taking into account the artificiality of the classroom in the first place). Aren’t we all to a degree frustrated singers, actors, artists (dancer in my case)!!! Tis part of the human condition to live various parallel lives where we do very different jobs to those we actually do. For sure our creative sides don’t get enough airing cos of the way much work is structured these days. The way I try to deal with this is incorporating music, poetry, film, literature and other more creative areas in to my teaching in various ways cos I find students love em and so do I.

   I also try as much as possible to break the teacher-performer-student-audience divide by sitting amongst the students and letting them take the “stage” wherever possible, or equalising it by running the lessons whilst sitting within the body of the class, thereby removing the stage position altogether – more collaborative.

   One last thing, actors are never allowed to have a bad day which is a tall order. I find in my classroom allowing students and myself to have days when they don’t have to pull any rabbits out of the hat lends itself to a more relaxed and tolerant classroom space. If I am tired or have been up all night with my daughter, or whatever, I tell them at the start of the lesson that I don’t have my usual energy levels, and I encourage them to do the same for all the reason people are not always ready with a Hollywood smile at every moment of every day. This level of honesty is usually appreciated and brings its own rewards.

   Do teachers need to be loved? Well don’t we all basically want people to like us – that is very human. It just depends to what extent and for sure there are cases where the need for an audience on the part of the actor outweighs the enjoyment of the audience themselves – always worth keeping in mind ways to keep that balance. Both in teaching and in life?

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   • Lindsay Clandfield says:

     July 18, 2009 at 8:24 am

     Thanks for the comment Sara, and thanks for allow a glimpse through this into your classroom!

     I like the metaphor of educational stage fright… I still get that too, whether it’s before a new class of six students or an auditorium of six hundred. I think the moment that completely goes away is the moment I have to rethink things, because I would feel that I am becoming blasé.

     My only experience acting or performing was at a school play, but I can imagine a parallel between the actor/performer and the teacher on the sensation of a performance or class that went particularly well. There is a rush after that, at least for me, when you know it’s been a good and worthwhile experience for everyone involved. Like when a singer says they were “feeling it” from the audience and reaching that harmony.

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