We begin the year with a powerful metaphor suggested and defined on the first day of school. While gathered in our morning circle at the beginning of the day, I asked the students to tell me the time as we were determining how to proceed with our daily schedule. With this initial question, much is learned. Who looks at the clock and knows immediately the exact hour and minute of the day? Who looks at the clock with bewilderment? Who studies the clock carefully trying to figure it out? Who does not look at the clock at all? In this short period, a specific direction for classroom instruction began to take shape.
What Do I See, Now?
On the first day of school we looked in the mirror and asked ourselves, “What do I see?” The question generated written responses referring mostly to physical appearance. This week, our last week of school, we returned to the mirror and asked . . .
“What do I see, now?”
Lightning Strike Kids Opera Company Celebrates
To celebrate the successes of the year-long opera process and culminating production, we invited our distinguished volunteers and supporters to join us for a brief ceremony.
There we reflected on who we are and what we have become as a result of our many accomplishments.
[Read more…] about Lightning Strike Kids Opera Company Celebrates
Reconnecting . . . Back on Track
After the opera production, when the authentic purpose for collaboration to accomplish the collective goal no longer exists, students sometimes struggle to re-establish their connection as a group and refocus their attention. They need to be reminded that it is the group effort that brought them to this point on the track. Each contributed to the whole in a unique and personal way, but the interdependence of the process enabled them to arrive at the station, their intended goal.
To bring students back together as a company, we present them with new challenges, exercises in which they must apply the skills they have acquired throughout the opera process to work as a team to achieve a common objective.
An Empty Stage (Videos)
Now that we have achieved our ultimate goal of creating and performing an original opera, where do we go from here? What do we do? These are questions the students ask as they enter the classroom “the day after” the final performance. After striking the set, depression sets in.
All of this intense work . . . and now it’s over. No set. No lights. No music. No costumes.
An empty stage . . . so it seems. What the students come to realize is that the stage is now set.
The Broken Mirror (Videos)
As I closed the classroom door in frustration, a mirror fell and shattered into a thousand pieces. My students quickly came to my aid, offering comfort and consolation. They understand that a teacher is human and experiences the same emotions as they do. We all feel frustration and must learn how to manage it. My students have empathy. For that, I am grateful. The broken mirror serves as a powerful metaphor for all of us. [Read more…] about The Broken Mirror (Videos)