End of week 1
Thursday/Friday: these days could not have been more potent learning experiences, or more different.
Although we were originally informed that they would be coming on Wednesday, on Thursday we had a visit from the grade 10 theatre cohort from St. George's School in Vancouver. They led a workshop in the morning and then presented a play to grades 7-12 in the afternoon.
The workshop went very well, the St. George's boys explained the games thoroughly and the Gold River students were enthusiastic and more than capable of excelling in the challenging improv games. Despite the success, it was impossible to ignore the imbalance of power. These grade 10 students from the city looked older, were dressed like soccer stars, and although Gold River doesn't have cell service, they failed to hide their brand new iPhone 7s. Once or twice, their instructions were patronizing, and they often seemed surprised when the Gold River students (many of whom were older) developed sophisticated characters/scenarios. I didn't interfere during the workshop, but now realize that I have become protective over these Gold River students that I have known for less than a week. Of course, I also have to remember that these boys from St. Georges were only in grade 10 and that this was probably one of their first times teaching students their age or older.
During lunch we had a spectacular catered lunch and drumming to celebrate the end of culture week. Salmon, potato, and onion soup and fry bread directly out of the oil. While the drumming and dancing was taking place I wanted to get the St. Georges boys (who were setting up for the play in the gym) to come watch. However, I didn't quite feel that it was my place to suggest this and now regret my choice. These "cross-cultural" experiences are all the more powerful if both groups are able to share something.
After lunch all grade 7-12's were required to sit on hard benches in the freezing gym to watch the St. George's play. There was a good deal of obvious reluctance by the students. The acting was good, but the gym acoustics combined with mediocre enunciation made the dialogue incomprehensible. The play was set in WWII Germany, but the only words I was clearly able to hear were Gestapo and Hitler Youth. They didn't provide any historical background. I was bored, and found myself raging at this production that was probably turning students off theatre forever. However, to my surprise, except for a few understandable walk-outs, the majority of the students sat patiently and respectfully for the duration of the show. Talking to a few afterward, they seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe they exaggerated because they know I am a drama teacher, but the enthusiasm seemed genuine. Either way, it was a lovely reminder for me to remove my cynic/critic's perspective once in a while. More importantly, this gave me invaluable perspective on any kind of pseudo "cross-cultural" projects. While I used to think that these kinds of travelling projects were just for the visitor, I now see that with more meaningful engagement between the two, there is potential for real learning on both sides.
KINDERGARTEN! Friday was my first experience in an elementary setting. Pierette's daughter Catherine kindly invited me into her amazing kindergarten classroom for the day. We played drama games, read stories, and played on this most beautiful playground. Elementary requires more hands on management of social-emotional learning and differentiation is particularly obvious (Catherine was teaching both English and ASL vocabulary all at once) but for the most part I was startled to realize how teaching kindergarten felt somewhat similar to teaching grade 8. I don't know if I am quite converted to elementary, but I will certainly look forward to TOCing elementary classes if they arise next year.