I could have played it safe for the unit, just sticking to improv games and briefing the students on the history on improvisation in theater. Instead, I have gone big. Thankfully, Mr. Scott was on board from the get-go, and it certainly has helped to bounce ideas off him as we progress. For the unit, I created six teams for each class, each team corresponding to a well-known improv theatre troupe, i.e., Second City
, The Groundlings
, et al. Each team has to put together a research paper and presentation on their company. I thought it would be a fun way for students to really gain appreciation of the art form, particularly with its strong Chicago roots. Throw in bonuses for integrated technology and collaborative work, and I think I’m hitting all the marks with the project. Part of the struggle is getting enough time for the students to work on computers during class time, since the students are from varying grade levels and don’t have the same lunch periods or much ability to work together after school. They should be doing some research outside of class, but I have to be realistic about how much they are able to do. I assembled the groups in mixed abilities, with even gender arrangements and broken up cliques. The idea is that the groups will also work together for their improv sketch performances, so the collaborative work should yield good results. If all goes well, students should be submitting their papers and projects on Monday, giving me time to at least peruse everything before the presentations. I have had a couple of small fires which I have had to diffuse. In my first period class, the group studying Second City was fighting because one girl said the other had to do the interview requirement. The first girl was trying to say that she could do her own research for the presentation, and everyone else could do the paper—I had to explain that it was important for each of them to take sections of the project and assemble the same info for both the paper and the presentation. Thankfully that seemed to work.
My other situation involves a student whose first language is not English. I think it may be Polish—we do have a significant Polish population at my school—but I’m not certain. He has refused to work with his group, and he pretty much stated that he thought the theater class was stupid. The only reason why he was still in the class, he said, is his counselor would not let him transfer out. Ironically, he had asked for bookwork and other assignments to augment his reluctance to perform, which I said he couldn’t do—he has to participate just like everyone else or face the consequences. With this project, I had tried to get him to work with his group, but he maintained his refusal, even after I told him that he would likely fail the class if he didn’t do well on the project. When he pulled the same thing again today, I gave him a new assignment: he will have to do his own paper and presentation on Keith Johnstone
and his Gorilla Theatre. I don’t have faith that the student will complete the work, but at least his group doesn’t have to plan for the contingency of him actually participating. When I gave the group the news today, at least one of the students had no idea he was even part of their group. If he does do the presentation, it could be interesting for the rest of the class. I haven’t yet figured out what we’ll do for the improv performances, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Three weeks from tomorrow is report card pickup and my last official day as a student teacher. I will likely go back the following day, which is a regular class schedule, just to see the students and aid in the transition back to my respective cooperating teachers. Hard to believe it’s coming up that soon. Aside from not getting my usual paycheck, and the crazy commutes, I’ve really enjoyed this experience. Even the staff development meetings and bureaucracy—it’s a welcome change from the medical billing world. Hopefully it won’t be long before I have a classroom of my own.
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