To teach, or not to teach. That is the question.

Well actually the title of this blog is a little misleading. I have never questioned whether or not I wanted to teach, but these days I wonder if I want to teach middle school or high school.


Currently I'm observing at a local middle school, and granted I'm only there for 6th grade Speech/Drama, but it's hard. After observing last semester at a high school, the change to 6th graders is drastic. It's not so much the difference in age, but I imagine that does have something to do with it. I think that the biggest difference is the teaching and the style of theater done at each school. When I was in middle school our theater program was excellent. We did two mainstage shows a year at the high school and the theater classes focused on character development, stage basics and being heard by the audience. In the middle school classes I'm currently observing we spend much the time discussing a reading of a short story, or dealing with a variety of classroom management issues which seem to drain much of the time from class. I'm told that in previous years the speech/drama classes were not together, which made the drama class more focused on dramatic literature and acting.

My main point I guess is that middle school theater is very different, but I think I like the students more. Their cluelessness about theater is refreshing, especially since at UNC I'm surroudned by knowledgable actors and technitions who eat, sleep and breathe theater. I think there is a great opportunity I could have to build a middle school program, giving young students the tools they need to succeed in life and go on to high school theater. Who knows... I guess finding a job will be the first priority, whether it be in a middle school or a high school.