Director. Playwright. Actor. Teacher. Theatre Maker.
Education Philosophy
My goal as a teacher is to transform the way students connect with and engage with the world. I want to give them the courage and conviction to question everything. I believe this is done by sparking a student’s joy, nourishing their curiosity, and growing their empathy. At its best, teaching inspires students to see the world in a new way, to make bold choices, and to fail. I find myself inspired by John Lubbock’s quote, “the important thing is not so much that every child should be taught as that every child should be given the wish to learn.” Students who take my courses will be challenged to examine the world around them, dissect what they see and experience, and explore the power of storytelling.
In high school I had a teacher, Mrs. Bradshaw, who gave us the assignment to do a presentation on A Christmas Carol. She encouraged us to unpack the book in any way that we wanted. She stressed that she wanted us to use our imaginations for this presentation and follow our passion and personal connections with the book. For some students, that meant writing a paper. For many students, this freedom allowed them to engage with the book in a completely new way. One student acted out scenes from the book, and another wrote a satirical essay in the vein of “A Modest Proposal” based on Scrooge’s famous line, “If they would rather die, they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population”. However, the presentation I remember the most was from a student named Alyse. Alyse was a quiet student who usually kept to herself. For her project, she baked some of the meals mentioned in the story and shared them with the class. She then spoke on the cultural and social implications of all the meals mentioned in the story. She was passionate, animated, and engaged in a way that I had never seen before. Pedagogical theory tells us that not all learners are the same. I watched that concept come to life. I find it inspiring to this day.
My classroom is an active lab, aimed at engaging multiple types of learning. In teaching my students how to develop a character journal, instead of just having them write a character outline, I’ll ask them to create a playlist for their character, draw/paint a significant moment from their character's life, or create a wordless morning 8-count routine for their character. When working on lighting with my tech students, we will talk about how light waves hit our eyes, physicalize the speed of light waves from different colors, and challenge my students to create optical illusions to share with each other. I love incorporating technology in innovative ways into my work. Instead of talking about sound design, students get a dynamic experience when they record themselves creating storm sounds, edit the file using Audacity, and then play it over the speakers while actors perform the story. The more modes of engagement, the better. I apply this same approach to my productions. When I was directing The Tempest at Therrell High School, we had a student who was always engaged and expressive, but who struggled to learn lines. Rather than exclude him from the play, we cast him as Caliban and converted several of his speeches to shadow puppet scenes. In my class, students will not just sit and engage in passive learning – because passive learning is not how we interact with the world daily.
To create a classroom where students feel empowered to express themselves and take risks, I strive to create a safe learning environment. This environment is free from judgment and sarcasm, effort is rewarded, and failure is viewed as a valuable tool. Note that this is not an environment free from consequences. All my students know they must adhere to safety standards and treat each other with respect. However, it is an environment where students feel emboldened to express themselves and where they are encouraged to interrogate their ideas and perceptions. Cultivating the kind of classroom where ideas about diversity, social justice, and culture flow freely can present unique challenges. It requires respect, humility, and candor on my part. Likewise, I expect my students to display these qualities. I create this environment by directing and teaching by asking questions and by providing clear and concise feedback on what I see, instead of general platitudes like “good job” or “needs work.” I admit when I make a mistake. I take joy in the work that I do, and I try to help my students find the same joy in their work.
I love Theatre because of the power that storytellers hold. It is a power that many people underestimate. Stories have the power to shape the world, change minds, open hearts, and help us redefine ourselves. The power of our own narrative, our mythology of self, is incredible. When I work with my students, I continue to invite participation rather than make assumptions about what they can or cannot do. I let them adjust and redefine their own narrative. I once had a teacher pull me aside after watching her students perform. She was crying. She told me she had never seen her students stand in front of the class, let alone stand up and perform. The student changed his own narrative. When it comes to show selection and casting, I adhere to the same values. I select plays and projects that are compelling and engaging to my students and the community. When casting, I strive to walk the line between challenging the student and setting them up for success. I believe in representation-conscious casting, which means casting students of different backgrounds, races, and physical abilities in a variety of roles. The priority is always student growth. My productions are always process driven. During the rehearsal process, performers are encouraged to take risks, ask questions, and try a variety of different choices.
My sensitivity to the strengths and weaknesses of my students also factors into the way I assess their learning outcomes. While I apply traditional assessment methods to my class, a student who tries is a student who succeeds in my classes. My grading relies on a mixture of class participation, tests, student-led projects, and presentations. I seek to offer a wide array of methods for students to demonstrate their comprehension of the material. This varied approach to assessment reflects my overall commitment to inclusivity, as I strive to honor the different abilities and diverse life experiences that all my students bring into the class.
Ultimately, what I want to achieve through teaching is to create a generation of students who are curious about the world and passionate to change it. My student-centered pedagogical approach, which heavily relies on collaboration, creates an environment that celebrates curiosity. When students leave my classroom at the end of the year, I hope they do so feeling emboldened to go out into the world and explore.