One
evening, at my student house, a small smoky grey cat showed up on our back
lawn. It was skinny and looked as though it had been outside for a long time. Our
hearts went out to it, and we decided to try and save him. My roommates and I
put out some food. He was hesitant but he ate keeping one eye on us. If we approached
him he would shy away and stay out of reach. He did not trust us.
Who knew what his history was? Whatever had happened to him, he was suspicious
and careful not to commit to our care for him. He ate the food but that was as
far as it went. We took him in and fed him for a few days. Once our new cat began
to feel comfortable, safe, and knew we were sincere, he changed entirely. All he
wanted to do was play and cuddle.
Students
who come into our classrooms are much like that cat. It takes time and investment
and proof of sincerity before there can be trust. Until you have trust, they
are reserved, careful, noncommittal and even unapproachable. Although it
is not easy to gain right away, with consistent openness and by providing space
and time, eventually you can build trust.
When
I think of Drama in education, I think of freedom of expression, of exploding
creativity, of the weight of the world coming out as opinion and
interpretation, of new beginnings. I think of genuine fun and playfulness. I
think of having freedom as an individual and of collaboration with others. To
me, the Drama room is a trusted place where you are allowed to express yourself
without fear of judgment. Your body is your instrument and Drama allows you to
play that unique instrument loudly and proudly, with experimental creativity
and without shame. Drama requires you to move out of your safe comfort zone and
in doing so enables you to become a character, a spokesperson, a
representation, someone other than yourself but someone who can express your
voice much better and louder than you can. The key is to get over the most
important hurdle, trust.
Please Watch:
"Why Trust Is Worth It"
Trust
is the number one goal to achieve in allowing individuals to express honest
creativity. Trust is a must when creating a strong group
dynamic. Trust is essential in allowing the individual to
express a personal opinion, not the popular opinion. Trust can
mean going against the grain, exploring other options, expressing new ideas.
Before an individual can expose him/herself creatively, in order to build
positive class relationships, trust is the key that unlocks the vault that
locks in expression and honest emotion. The great thing is, trust works
both ways, once given, it is received, and trust leads to our ability to listen
and appreciate another’s point of view and develop interpretations on ideas
like inclusion and exclusion. Bottom line, the students need to feel
comfortable and know that they will not be judged under any circumstances and
above all us, what happens in the drama room, stays in the drama room. They
need to feel accepted with all of their differences and know that they have the
freedom to speak open-mindedly, with relevance to the course content. In order
to create the best learning experience for the students, the teacher needs to
work hard at creating a positive environment where the students feel that they
can be true to themselves, while being able to trust and be
trusted by others in the classroom.
Students
will not participate in a class activity or discussion without trust because
they are too nervous and at potential risk of judgment from those around them.
These students lose the opportunity when it is their turn to shine, because
they have it within them but don’t trust to let it
out. It is important for the teacher to establish from the beginning that
Drama is not about who is right or wrong, good or bad, cool or square. Drama is
about freedom, about equality, about expression and about growing and learning
as a team.
Drama
entails the unleashing of our personalities and all of our potential skills. Trust
allows us to open up to our emotions and expose our vulnerabilities. It
requires strength, in all areas of your body and mind. In order to be able to
show all of these aspects of ourselves, we need to be able to trust that those
around us will be accepting and understanding of the choices that we make and
the feelings that we have internalized.
As
an emotional person, I never really understood why, in Drama class, we would
spend so many weeks on playing different games, I was always ready to start
getting right into the scenes. As I get older and have taken many different
Drama courses, specifically DART 3F93, I can see how continuously doing group
activities gradually develops the trust in each other and keeps the group
dynamic strong. Each time we do a new activity, new personalities are revealed and
trust leads to bonding and sincere appreciation for others.
As
I mentioned earlier, before an individual can expose him/herself creatively, in
order to build positive relationships, trust is key. If teachers work hard at
creating an environment where students feel that they can TRUST one
another, they can then let go of their fears and will feel more motivated and
willing to participate.
As
an example of my trust for you, the reader, here is a personal poem that, of
course , I know you won't judge, because we trust each other. I hope you enjoy
it. Picture me in front of you, exposing my creative self, rapping the
following lines:
The conversation interests me but I say nothin'
Keep my head down and focus on my muffin
I don't know them and they don't know me,
Who cares if they think I'm a mental amputee.
I don’t give it up when I’m not with my peeps,
I’m not that shy but this place gives me the creeps,
The game they are playing… it’s about to be my turn ,
But I won’t participate… my trust you have to earn,
You don’t know it now… but it’s something you will learn,
I won’t participate… my trust you have to earn,
You don’t know it now but it’s something that you must,
I’ll give you the time of day but I can’t give you my trust.
Even as a little kid I wouldn’t say a thing,
When I left my mother’s womb… they said that I could sing,
I may as well be deaf and dumb now that I have been deceived,
Tricked too many times… by jokers I believed,
You may think that we are not the same,
Just be----cause ….I won’t play your stupid game,
The truth, if I knew you it, is that I would be the best,
If only I could trust that you wouldn’t second guess.
You don’t know it now… but it’s something you will learn,
I won’t participate… my trust you have to earn,
You don’t know it now but it’s something that you must,
I’ll give you the time of day but I can’t give you my trust.
Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment :)
