Part One
Expectations of the speaker
The phrase “power over education” brought to mind the ever increasing problem nationwide that schools are facing; the dropout rate of our young people. It also reminded me how the state of many of our classrooms is becoming increasingly prescriptive. Tasha, you seem to be challenging yourself to get to the root cause and underlying factor concerning student engagement. One of the things I wondered was, how do you define sustainable knowledge and why should students have power over education? In other words, what is it in your practice that inspired you to talk about this topic? As arts educators we are always having to justify our practices and speak both in broad generalities (divergent thinking) as well as the minutia (convergent thinking) of our work. The phrase, "power over education", needs a few more introductory remarks, to allow the listener to take a deeper dive.
What I learned from your talk (any new information)
Comparing collaboration to a mosaic, gave me insight into how you must engage students. It is visible that the driving force in your work is the deep and abiding respect you show your students, as is evidenced in the way you speak about collaboration. I could envision you using this simile to introduce students to a group project. In fact, it is such a strong image, I would have loved to see a group photo of your students at that point in the talk. It helped me envision how committed the students must be in your program and spoke volumes for your intent.
The three components of the collaboration model were new to me and I am already thinking of how to implement them in my rehearsals, moving forward.
How it was meaningful to me
The three components of collaboration fascinated me. I often talk about the importance of failure with the children in front of me, though I use the word “mistakes”, due to the age of my students. I have never associated this as a component of effective collaboration, but the concept makes sense to me. Because students in the performing arts work in multiple modalities, it is often difficult for them to transition from their traditional classrooms to our open ended arts classrooms. They are often mired in a cult of perfectionism, which overwhelms some and stifles others. So failure is a factor which is generally discouraged for both teachers and students alike. On the other hand we are often directly reprimanded in this culture, if we exhibit any level vulnerability. For students I feel it could also be a Pandora’s box of sorts. With younger children, we try to enter into that delicate domain by using Social/Emotional Learning tools (SEL) but often the traumas of our students require so much more than we can provide in a one-hour setting. But regarding myself, it will allow me to inhabit and own my vulnerability; this might help me avoid taking things personally.
And finally the need for a creative or sacred space. It is such a simple idea and your collaboration in facilitating this for your students was very touching. To create the project of designing and implementing this space now clarifies for me what power over education means to you.
Part Two
The single most compelling aspect of the visual information shared
Tasha, the images of your students in the process of creating that sacred space, immediately distilled for me what this talk was about and my main suggestion is show more photos of your students rather than using stock photos to illustrate the points you are making. I also was very aware of your training as an actress; you have a very pleasant and engaging voice and manner. It is my opinion, you should videotape yourself talking.
Why it is meaningful
Tasha, you and I teach in different parts of the country and with different grade bands, but the pictures of your students reminded me that our work, with all its implicit challenges, hopes, triumphs and joys is the same. Children are children and we do what we do because we believe in their spirit and optimism. Hope for a better world, is the underlying reason to teach, and those photos illustrate your point very well. Use more!
Part Three
Changes in my own presentation after viewing Tasha’s work
Tasha introduced me to a new technical option that I hadn’t been aware of and that is to use Screencastify to integrate my actual talk into the slide show. I also am reminded of my own clarity and the need to make three distinct and clear points. Looking at another person’s work helps to remind me to see my own work with new eyes. It helped me realize that I haven’t really given a hook or stated the purpose of my talk. I also know I need to tighten it up in many places and memorize my script.