Final Dress Rehearsal

Well, it's here...the week I start my project.

I had hoped to begin today but alas, we are nothing in education and the arts if we are not flexible.  It turned out that the Special Olympics program was doing an event this week and most of "my kids" are involved in that SO...I will start the majority of my work next week.  So stay tuned.

MEANWHILE...I AM able to start my in-school component of the project.  At 12:30 tomorrow I'll begin work with a group of students at Highland Elementary in Waterloo, Iowa.

As I sat at my desk earlier today preparing for tomorrow's lesson  I experienced a wide range of emotions...excitement for sure but there was a fair share of anxiety as well.  I found myself discarding idea after idea as I self-censored one thought after another.  I felt some of my ideas were too easy, others too hard, some too boring and others...too what?

And maybe it wasn't the activities at all?  Maybe the problem was me?  Where was this tsunami of doubt come from?  Pressure for the first class to be perfect?  Fear of failing? 

In the end, I did what I almost always do...I trusted my instincts, my ideas and my creative impulses.  Using those three practices as my guide, I have created a lesson that challenges me with some new ways of doing some favorite activities; a lesson I think will be fun but serve its purpose...to help develop trust among the group, get a sense of the students I am working for and with, give the students a chance to explore movement and pantomime with an emphasis on tableau work, and the chalelnge my students to share at least one idea verbally, one idea physically, and one idea dramatically.
The lesson should give me a chance to make discoveries about my students...their strengths and needs while I focus dramatically on community building. 

But a more important lesson has been learned before even stepping into the classroom.  Even the most veteran of teachers never really stops being a student.  The apprehension, anxiety and self-doubt I experienced today are a useful reminder of what my UNI students experience as they learn to develop and teach creative drama, and are a gentle reminder of the importance I place on this work, this project, and the youth I wish to serve. 

So wish me luck...the adventure is about to begin.