“The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” -Mark Van Doren

As an educator, I strive to “assist discovery.” I do so by cultivating a safe learning environment that fosters play, compassion, exploration, and community. In this environment, my students feel empowered to take creative risks and to grow as human beings.  I cherish facilitating my students’ revelations and sharing in their joys and challenges. I believe that “we teach who we are” and so I model my goal of working toward the betterment of humanity through storytelling.

In the theatre classroom, I have three major pedagogical goals: facilitating students’ self-awareness, cultivating their empathy, and achieving their super-objective. First, each student has unique strengths and challenges, so I strive to accommodate their various learning styles. Students who are given the permission to freely express and communicate their strengths and weaknesses in the classroom, I believe, are more likely to reciprocate with an open heart and mind. Self-growth is a never-ending journey that we’re all on, but finding a space that accepts you while also encouraging your willingness for personal improvement is a method of compassion we should all practice. While I think, acting isn’t for everyone, I would argue that theatre is. However, for those whose interest it doesn’t spark, I am always looking for other ways to advise them. Intrigue can be captured through multimedia, projections, dance, poetry, spoken word, historical and pop culture references, or whatever might be trending at the moment. In short, I’m sympathetic to whatever will help them and keep them engaged in the art of storytelling.

Second, fostering relationships teaches us empathy. For me, it is invariably the most exciting part of educating. It is always my hope that I can learn enough about my students and their interests outside of class so I can help them apply what we are learning to their everyday life. One of the ways I like to reinforce empathy is through the importance of rituals in the classroom.  I always start class by honoring where we left off along with a personal check in regarding what my students were able to take away. What stuck? What do we need to revisit? Mantras are a must in my classroom as well. I use them to plant seeds of personal presence that grows into a sense of togetherness in a judgment free environment. This type of consistency builds their trust and emphasizes my investment in their education. I have witnessed the success that comes from students communicating on a personal level that then leads to solid ensemble building.

Finally, to borrow from Stanislavski’s concept of super-objective, my mission as an educator is to help my students to identify their own super-objective. What are their strengths and passions that can be developed more fully so they can make a difference in this world? We all long to do important work and feel needed. Our super-objective leads us to examine our core and find our own truth. It allows a space to test our courage and convictions by letting us unveil our vulnerabilities and opportunities for growth. At the beginning of the semester, my students write and perform a personal manifesto that encourages them to articulate what they stand for, as an artist and human. At the mid-point, they are asked to reflect on their risks, challenges, and successes thus far. Finally, at the end of the term, students are given the opportunity to revisit their super-objective for the class. How did it help move them forward in other areas of their life and why was it meaningful?

My privilege as an educator is to assist in the creation of art that inspires emotion, empathy and social change. Just like an actor, a teacher’s job is never done, I will continue to strive for ways to enrich and embolden my students to hone their skills as effective communicators, wholehearted listeners and purposeful artists. Martha Graham said that making art was “a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.” May we all be fortunate enough to experience that “blessed unrest.”