Any comments or feed back would be really appreciated.
I believe drama is a subject that allows
a student to establish and develop key life skills. Drama is so much more than
performing on a stage, by encompassing the idea of commitment, reflection and
consideration, I believe it to play a important role in the academic journey of
a student. Wrapped up in different schemes of work and texts, the learning can
compliment not only the teaching in other subjects, but indeed life in the
outside world. As a student myself, the drama classroom helped me to recognise who
I am and what I wanted to be. My passion, enthusiasm and energy for the
dramatic arts began to grow and this developed into a career as an actor. It
excites me that the time has come for me to return the world of education and
give back to the subject of Drama, a subject that can shape the very person you
become.
I wanted to further enrich
my knowledge of teaching and gain a broader understanding of Drama in
education, so I volunteered at Jo Richardson Community School. I worked
alongside an inspirational Drama teacher, who encouraged me to develop my own
style of teaching. Working with the students motivated me to pursue my passion
for teaching drama further. I was able to draw from my extensive skills as an
actor to stimulate and enrich the lessons. It was at this stage that I realised
the importance of providing an enriching and engaging learning experience for
the students. Having the opportunity to observe the work of other
experienced teachers enabled me to know what the next step as a drama practitioner
was for me.
The first thing I noticed whilst watching
the head of drama, Cathrine Cook, was the difference in lesson structure and
approach to every different year group. It really pinpointed the idea of
knowing who you are teaching and playing to their strengths, I found this a
challenging yet fascinating concept. I noticed that her skill was to guide
rather than show the students, allowing them to learn through play. This gave
them a sense of commitment over their learning. I was inspired and after each
session I would try to apply the skills and ideas I was collecting, to my own
work as a teacher. When I was asked to lead a monologue workshop with year 11
at Greig City Academy, the main message in the workshop was to put down the
text and play with the ideas and themes in the monologue. It’s in the doing and
the playing of the text that a student finds the character. This is a method I
have picked up from my observations, but also found support for the idea whilst
on a London Drama course. We were exploring the ideas of Lucy Cuthbertson, I
found it revolutionary that by getting students to improvise the themes within
the script, they will have more of a sense of command over the text when it
come to performing it. This enabled me to
become braver as a tutor and allowed the students in the workshop to grow
organically, instead of the teacher (me) making it happen. Last summer I went
in to Jo Richardson to help out with the GCSE drama performances, I was able to
spend the day with a couple of groups, having helped them it was wonderful to
watch them expand their ideas and grow in their final performances. Once the
examiner left the room, everybody cheered with achievement and there was a real
sense of accomplishment in the room, a feeling rarely seen in the ordinary work place. With the student’s faces beaming and the head
of department's eyes full of emotion, I stood there and felt the electricity in
the room. From that day I knew that this is where I wanted to be.
My ambitions as a practitioner have
become about giving students a comfortable, open and creative environment to
express their work. Enabling them to use
their imagination, manifest their ideas and play with the influence of others,
what a fantastic process to be apart of. Focusing on the
drama process and not just the product, I feel I can enhance the creativity the
drama classroom can bring to a student. I found support for this notion whilst
exploring the ideas of Dorothy Heathcote, after researching her method of
providing students with a greater sense of autonomy over their learning
development. Noticing she gave students complete ownership and responsibility
of their work, I then watched her videos with complete enlightenment and
inspiration. I sat back and thought I absolutely need to try this. I got my
students to create a still image of a family dinner. I then walked
around the group and began to sit at the table with them, they all suddenly
came alive and I began to slice up the turkey and serve the potatoes. But there
was a problem, we had run out of gravy, “don’t worry I’ll just go and get some”
I said. The students spontaneously created a shop to allow me to purchase the
gravy. I was stunned, I began to understand that by engaging in the drama with
the students, I could guide and enrich their
learning. The idea of being part of a child's academic journey and having a
role in the life skills they take with them, enthuses me with excitement. I
have a huge passion for the theatre arts, together with classroom strategies
and tools I hope to gain through teacher training, I hope to become not just
drama teacher, but a practitioner in education.
Hi mate, I'll have a read of it at lunchtime. In the same boat as you at the moment, chipping away at the application process! One quick note though is that it has to be no more than 47 lines long in size 11 Verdana font. Don't know if you was already aware but just in case it's handy to know. I'll make sure I give you some feedback before the day is out. Otherwise hope you're well
ReplyDeleteActually, managed to have a read just now. What I would say is that naturally we are our own biggest critics. Your statement to me appears very fluid and you communicate a very unique blend of subject passion and relevant teaching experience to support it.
ReplyDeleteI feel that you are in a very strong position due to your wealth of experience. The language that you use communicates somebody who has a solid, broad knowledge of education across a number of age groups. I was recently at a PGCE open evening where the tutor said that experience now is more essential than ever in the application. I think this is excellent work Ahmet and wish you the best of luck with your application. Hopefully this time next year we'll both be en route to QTS!
John
Hey John,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for commenting. As you know, you can't just apply for a drama PGCE anymore there is a list of criteria that you have to present and it seems we are both at the same point in the process. This is providing me great food for my inquiry.
Thank you so much for the pointer of the line limit, I had no idea. Looks like i'll be cutting it as it's a paragraph to long. Please keep in touch and let me know how your application comes along!
Ahmet
Hey Ahmet,
ReplyDeleteIf what Jon says about the line limit is true, having now read through your personal statement, I would say that the first and last paragraphs are the strongest; Conveying your thoughts as a drama practitioner, reflecting on your experiences as a drama student and how you have progressed through learning from other practitioners and the students themselves. Jon is right when he says that you are in strong position with your wealth of experience, which is now being turned into learning and knowledge.
Great idea and very brave to put this on here, requesting feedback. Good stuff Ahmet. Speak soon.x
Ahmet
ReplyDeleteWhat did they ask for in your personal statement is it meant to articulate your interest in the course - what will you bring to the course? knowledge and experience? The ability to engage and work with children and other learning professionals in a learning environment?
You carefully chose the institution you are applying to but there is no mention to your consideration about how your attributes match the course. Didn't you enquire and discuss this - and you evaluated that discussion and thought that the match was a good one?
In the first para you set the scene - you mention "As a student myself, the drama classroom helped me to recognise who I am and what I wanted to be." Do you need the ‘myself’ - what type of student was this in performing arts or earlier experiences?
Is there a word count and have your followed it?
You have cited Cuthbertson and Dorothy Heathcote - any specific sources? (Year) as in Harvard style might be appropriate - no bib unless required
maybe a few more details Where is the school? London? what age children?
You have not mentioned BAPP Arts or your previous education from performing arts or your experience as a performer- as this experience and your inquiry topic (even if this is in the early stages of completion) has the potential of greatly informing your school practice - do they deserve a few lines that integrate this experience with your recent schools experience?
Statements are sometimes about potential and evidencing appropriate matching to the course.
In the last paragraph you tell a 'classroom' story and then add a few concluding words - perhaps give this a bit more space?
Hope that helps - really up to you because you have talked to the uni and have a better feel for what they are looking for in a personal statement- and I agree with Jo - personal statements are hard things to write but many of our BAPP Arts colleagues need to write them for applications (it goes along with the idea that we all have to write and communicate in many different forms) so your example and this discussion could be helpful to others - good to share.
Paula,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for you feed back. The statement is for the GTTR website which acts a s a UCAS type system for teacher training. So the statement isn't for one course only. I have my eye on Goldsmiths but that is only my first choice. I have other choices too. So I can't specifically point out my credentials for a specific course. It isn't an academic piece so Harvard etc isn't needed. It's an informal piece that shows my passion for the chosen subject and my interest in teaching young people. From my conversations the general buzz word for PGCE is 'experience'. They want to hear me talking about the places I work in and what I'm learning. it's more about being and watch a practitioner and not just having a degree, however, you can't apply without having one. I am heavily over so will have to get cutting.
Thanks again, I'm glad to have put it up here it's helped me and hopefully others.
Thanks again.