Once again I feel so lucky about the quality of our
certification program and the people involved with it. When we read our “I am”
poems, it reminded me of when I’ve had students perform in front of (sometimes
large groups of) people.
Performing is very powerful, and creates the possibility for
deep personal experience. I’ve been so proud of my students, and felt honored
that they have taken a risk in my class and moved through the vulnerability of
being seen and heard by an audience. There was something that we did that made
it easier for them.
Before the beginning of a performance, when the audience is
assembled and we’re ready to start, I get my students on stage and ask them
what they would like to ask for from the audience. We talk about this together
beforehand, so they come up with about three or four things. They often ask for
the audience to understand that they worked hard on their performance, but are
a little nervous, to pay close attention during the performance, and to enjoy
the performance.
Then I ask the audience what they would like to ask of the
performers. They always ALWAYS ask my students to relax and enjoy performing,
and sometimes say they understand what it’s like to be nervous too. We keep it
really short, but it has been extremely helpful.
I really like the way in which you handled your students' nervousness by getting the audience involved. Performing in front of an audience is such a vulnerable act that requires so much heart and hard work! I'm sure that this made the experience more enjoyable for both parties. I can see how we could use this idea in connection with the classroom when thinking about building community. By setting clear guidelines for what is to be expected from both the teacher and students, as well as the entire school community, we set up a safe space right from the start!
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