Blog Post #14

I know that the academics portion of school is by-far the most important, but me being a very creative person with a very large imagination, I would have liked to express my creativity with a non-academic activity. Since I will be an Elementary teacher, there will be a few programs/shows that my students will put on for parents. I think a good assignment for we EDM students would have been to plan a non-academic activity for students. For example, if you are secondary, you could direct a Talent Show with a tempting prize such as an iPad.You could also have the students reenact a comedy or a funny movie that is popular among their age. Something my highschool did was have us dress as waiters and serve the staff and family members dinner while speaking in our favorite accent, whoever kept character the best, received an iPod (this was not for a "Drama" class, it was assigned to anyone who wanted to do it in the Sophomore class).

Several students participated and it was a fun activity that made students want to come to school to practice and get ready for it throughout the week. If you are an Elementary major, you could arrange a Christmas play that steers away from the traditional religious "baby Jesus" theme, and take on something more modern and accepted. Such as, the Grinch, or Mr. and Mrs. Clause with Elves. In one of the classes I am observing, My mentor teacher put together a "Fairy-Tale" program. In this program, the students acted out several different fairy tales. They dressed up, sang, and acted out the most popular fairy tale stories with their families as an audience. Every day for about 20 minutes before lunch they rehearsed for about two weeks, so it did not take up much academic time. This assignment allowed the students to take a little "brain break" every day and have some fun. So, like I said, EDM students could have created their own program/activity for the student to do that would usually require and audience. This program could help students with personal skills such as their confidence and social skills. An assignment like this would also help student get along better because they would be working together in a less stressful environment.

Here is my Program: My students will put on a "musical". They will dress up and sing the most popular songs from the 70's-80's that would be relevant to their parents. I would have my little boys come out in leather jackets and sing a popular Aerosmith song and my girls come out singing a Cindy Lauper song; While of course, staying cute! They would be all dressed up in the "styles" from that generation and keep parents laughing with the mixture of all the classics. This would allow the student to "let loose" a little, and have some fun, while making their parents proud! They would love to know that the songs they are performing are recognized by their family members. Being a creative person, I would love to put something like this together.I know this is not required by teachers but I believe that if you want to be an educator, you enjoy kids, and should want to do more than what your job title requires so that you can become the best teacher you can be!