10/17/06 An Update from Paul Burdick’s Performance Outreach Class
We have currently had 6 classes and in these classes we have discussed everything from poetry to the average attention span of a 3rd grader. I found that I have the attention span of a 5th grader at times, especially when this class meets at thursday between 4 and 6. This past week we took a field trip to the South End Settlements, it is an old building that houses a pre-school program, before and after school program and a community arts center. In December our class will be performing for the after school program and we went to check out the performance space and the types of activities that occur there. While there we had to oppurtunity to watch an African Dance Class, where the emphasis was not perfection but movement and enjoyment. It gave the kids time to figure out what they were doing with gental instruction. We then walked through two classrooms where math and reading were being taught. Each group was no more than 10 students with 2 teachers/tutors. We learned the basics of how an after-school program is run, and was given time to look around the all purpose room. The last stop on our tour was the art center located next door. Inside we found the youngest group that the afterschool program has. They were finishing their pumpkin patch mural by cutting out silver stars and rocket ships. Our trip ended with some time of reflection where the class talked about the size of the program and how it was run. This trip was interesting and I am looking to discuss it further in class on thursday.
-Maggie
October 19th, 2006 at 8:28 pm
I like the idea of the African dance class — sounds very process-oriented. Sounds a bit like what classes are like here at NEC! What kind of programs will your class be presenting at the Center? Did you get any new ideas about how teaching artists can function in community arts centers?
December 13th, 2006 at 8:56 pm
I took this class last year in the Fall semester of 2005. I thought that its focus on the artist as a teacher was very interesting. This was actually the first class I ever took in the MIE Program. Our class also worked with poetry before anything else. This helped me to see the concept from a different point of view. By starting with an art form we were all less familiar with, we were able to analyze the process of how we learned. It’s true that we should all be experts by now, having been students of many kinds and for many years, but how often does one really take the time to closely look at that process? The peotry was a hands-on way to reflect on areas we may have been struggling with as non-experienced learners. I think it was important to go through that feeling of not having a clue in some cases. If we can pinpoint where the difficulties are, better strategies for solving and working through those obstacles will be discovered by the time we need to teach a similar skill to others.