One of the reasons I was drawn to the arts as a kid (and one of the reasons I love teaching) is the diversity of the people who are drawn to it. I am in the process of teaching a class on Oral Interpretation of Literature and my students just shared the titles and short synapses of their prose pieces in class this morning. I placed a few stipulations on their choice. First, it has to fit in the three to five minute time limit that they have. Second, I wanted them to choose something that challenged them (and preferably that included direct discourse between characters and a setting that needed to be illuminated). And most importantly... something that they were really excited and passionate about doing!
Just in the pieces that they have chosen it is clear how dramatically different the interests of the class are. We have everything from a guy contemplating suicide to a piece from Winnie the Pooh. I love that. I love how much I learn from the diversity of choices. I love that students bring in pieces that I would NEVER choose for myself (which in turn means that I would choose pieces that they wouldn't consider). That is the beauty of art. You (and fifteen other people) are given certain parameters... and the variety that comes out is what makes us unique. What a cool job.
No comments:
Post a Comment