So, this week I thought I’d share an experience I had with one of my level 3 groups.
As students of Performing Arts they have not had it easy this term, strict guidance on how singing / dancing and acting can be taught and performed has a meant major shakeup of their curriculum. Once they qualify, they are facing an industry currently on its knees. With an uncertain future and unhelpful government suggestions to re-train forming a background to their education, morale could be understandably low. But yet, what I am finding is a resilience and determination in my students I never expected.
Thecreativeindustries.co.uk website states that prior to the pandemic £100bn a year was bought into to the UK economy by this sector. It employs over 2 million people, largely in small businesses and around a third self-employed. The creative industries federation also states that prior to the pandemic £36bn in services was exported globally from the UK, that’s nearly 12% of all UK service exports. Yet if you follow #savethearts or other social media campaigns you’ll find endless stories of the arts in decline both locally and nationally. Did you know for example that The Hazlitt in Maidstone is in danger of closing its doors due to a review of council spending? Mine and countless others stories of the creative industries start in regional locations such as this, nurturing talent and developing 21st century skills that employers say are in such demand... what does it say to our students if we are not willing to fight for such local institutions?!
But I digress, let’s get back to my students! They have been working in a bubble since September on a socially distanced Panto to be recorded and live streamed at the beginning of December. (All new and exciting technologies)! I wanted to acknowledge how proud I am of them and how well they have coped with the ever-changing scenario and various absence due to self-isolation. I also wanted to provide them with some meaningful feedback in the form of a midterm review.
I completed this feedback review in a written format using a rubric design and the words ‘Glow’ and ‘Grow’ as alternatives to strengths and areas for development, so it was distinctly different. (For more info on this see Monday Musings 16/11/20).
These reviews were posted individually to their VLE system prior to my next lesson so they could read in advance. Nothing too strange so far, I hear you cry! Well this is where it gets interesting, at the start of the lesson I got the students to read the review again to themselves. I then asked them to get comfortable lying down and completed a mindfulness guided reflection and visualisation activity, accompanied by some ambient music. This activity focused on breathing, being present in the moment, looking back over the project so far and visualising the future they wanted for themselves. I broke down the activity into guided questions focused around the way they thought / felt and behaved in relation to themselves and others. I was astonished at the focus and engagement this activity received; in a busy noisy term, under unprecedented circumstances this activity proved a useful pause point for the students. After the activity was complete … some cried. Some couldn’t wait to share their thoughts. Some sat quietly and continued reflecting. Some became frustrated with time they now felt they had wasted. But all learnt something about themselves ... and how can I be sure of this? Because every student posted a comment under their midterm review telling me how they were thinking, feeling and behaving and their hopes for the future. This single exercise has increased my understanding of how my students see themselves in this world more than anything else I’ve done this year. I can approach each student with a deeper level of empathy; I can support them in areas they are passionate to improve.
They re-entered their rehearsals with renewed engagement and vigour that day. I have seen a big uptick in work completion and quality since the activity. Building mindfulness into our curriculum now, to me, seems more important than ever to help support the mental well-being of our students. In a noisy busy world, we must remember that College or any educational institution often represents a safe haven in our students lives. Why not take a little extra time to pause and allow reflective practice to enter the classroom.
After one appropriately placed exercise my student’s resilience is stronger than ever and that’s why I know the arts will be okay... because our students will carry it forward and always find ways of making it work!
So, here’s to the creative industries getting back on their feet in all its glorious forms. #savethearts
If you want to know more about the Hazlitt in Maidstone: https://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/theatres-future-is-uncertain-237401/
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- Melanie Rogers
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