Teachers learn through drama

While most of their peers are relaxing on summer holidays, today some student teachers from St. John’s College concluded a course in what is called the expressive arts. It is one of the Ministry of Education?s latest initiatives to expand training for primary school teachers to institutions outside the University of Belize. Today, the venue was not a classroom, but a stage. Karla Heusner reports.

Karla Heusner, Reporting
Twenty-six students from St. John?s Junior College took to the stage of the Bliss today as part of their final examination after five weeks of drama and dance training. Course lecturer Leroy Green says these teachers made the grade.

Leroy Green, Lecturer, ?Expressive Arts Course?
?What I was looking for was the drama element, the dance element, the storyline, and the overall impact. And I think all groups did a fantastic job. And I said to them I hope they don?t leave it here after a grade, but take it with them to the classroom.?

What pleased me most was because I think of the group there was only one who had danced before and most had never been on a stage doing a drama before. So I think they have grown a lot from when the course started five weeks ago.?

The teachers were supported this morning by their Assistant Dean, Cecilia Ramirez-Smith.

Karla Heusner
?How important are the expressive arts to becoming a well rounded teacher??

Cecilia Ramirez-Smith, Asst. Dean, S.J.C.
?Well, it?s very important. When you are a teacher in the primary school system you are charged with the responsibility of developing the total child. And oftentimes we focus on the academics, hence the reason why we pay a lot of attention to the teaching of math, and the teaching of reading and science and those things. But if you are going to develop the total child, then you need to look at other aspects, physical development, social development, emotional development.?

?In the past, not all our primary school teachers were equipped, to handle other aspects of development. This is one of the reasons why, in our programme we try to make sure that we incorporated course like these. This expressive arts course is not the only one. We have another expressive arts course that focuses on the teaching of music and the visual arts.?

Karla Heusner
?Are you hoping that the teachers that go through this kind of programme, that their work in the classroom will help buoy up their participation in the Festival of Arts and other events??

Leroy Green
?Actually it has, because in last year?s festival we saw, I identified some of the teachers that I taught last year, and some that I did from Teachers? College, and also some of the itinerant teachers here at the Bliss did quite a few items which really stood out in the Festival of Arts.?

The five week summer expressive arts programme ran simultaneously at S.J.C., Corozal Community College, Stann Creek Ecumenical College, and Sacred Heart College in San Ignacio. Karla Heusner reporting for News Five.

The Expressive Arts course is part of S.J.C.’s six semester programme which leads to an Associate’s degree in primary education. It is accredited by the joint board of teacher education in Jamaica.