Teaching beyond our subjects...

"A few conversations this week, have encouraged me to think about how I 'teach beyond my subject'. Of course I could sit and list all the vital skills Drama teaches you - team work, empathy, communication, collaboration, etc. - but how often do my lessons reach out to the world around us? How do I encourage deep and meaningful conversation in my lessons?"

Whilst teaching Frankenstien to my Year 9 classes today, a conversation we had made me feel so humble and proud of the teenagers sat before me. It was like maturity had walked into the room and cast the most wonderful of spells. We discussed what it was like to be 'different', how we sometimes incorrectly judge people for these differences and how maybe we should try to understand them rather than be scared of them. As we began to explore the character of Gretel and her first interaction with Frankenstein's creature, we talked about loneliness, love, affection and morals. It progressed to analsying the depth of the character, and then the depth of us. We thought about how everyone makes mistakes, or that we've all judged someone before when we shouldn't have or how sometimes we want attention and that's ok. I was teaching more than just Drama - we were teaching each other about love, compassion, trust, empathy, caring for others, equality, and many other vital feelings, connections and skills they need to survive in an ever-changing world.

The Year 8's hit the jackpot too! When we were discussing the fictional tale of great King Montazuma, we started to think about what makes a good leader. And, what happens when this leader passes? Who might be worthy to take their place and why? Although I was following the scheme of work I was given, at a moment in time in which the air is full of political discussion, I realised we were addressing what is happening in our world right now. The children were learning about Drama - their performances, rehearsals, etc. - but also about leadership, power and social hierarchy too.

And... the Year 12s! As one of them performed a heart felt monologue, we were all left emotionally stimulated. We were struck by the amazing storytelling as they performed and we began to talk about human emotions. I often used examples whilst teaching them like 'we've all been in a room with someone we've fell out with and felt the tension' or 'you can probably think of a time that you felt like that' and we apply these to their characters and performances. We were talking about being 'human'. The lesson went beyond the usual facial expressions or body language comments, which you often hear in Drama. We'd started a deep and meaningful conversation that helped us learn beyond our lesson content, beyond our subject at that moment in time.

Lastly, my form class. Today, we practiced mindfullness. I asked them to close their eyes, focus on their breathing and listen. To take a moment in their busy day to take in what is around them and be grateful for the things that really matter in their lives. When I asked them 'so, what could you hear?' they said, 'the clock', 'someone's breathing', 'silence'. I pointed out to them that too often we are so busy, going through everyday life never really being present - either letting something in the past get us down, or lookng forward to something that hasn't happened yet. How often to we actually hear a clock ticking away each second? How often are we so busy that all those intricate little sounds are bypassed because we are too busy? I taught them to pause, to reflect, to take a moment for themselves. And when we talked about the things in life we treasure the most, you could see faces that form time a little down, or minds that entered the room cloudy, had began to change and clear. Going back to basics form time is about getting them accurately registered and giving notices, but we can go beyond that, beyond our primary job. Teach them more. Use that time wisely. Teach beyond our subject.

Picture by Vector Stock

I suppose my point is that if we can give them extra tools or knowledge, then why don't we? Lets make our lessons informative, engaging and stimulating, and sometimes an occassional, mostly-relevant, tangent can do just that that and more! For all those times we asked our Maths teacher 'why is pythagorus relevant to my future?', maybe these sorts of conversations may have been the answer. Let's show them how what they are learning in the classroom applies to outside world? Lets take them on important tangents in their minds. Lets show them how important learning is, stretching their minds beyond the immediate classroom they are in, and show them how to impact the world around them with their newly learnt knowledge or skill.

What do you do in your classroom to apply the outside world? We are often told to or feel like we should rigidly stick to our lessons plans, but sometimes an occasional tangent can result in deeper, more meaningful conversation that educates them even more.

Thanks for reading!

Miss B :)