Drama is a subject, despite what the government thinks . A letter sent in November 2. Department for Education (Df. E) to the Birmingham Repertory theatre, suggests drama is not a subject in the minds of ministers. How and why have ministers arrived at this damaging conclusion? Did they actually talk with any drama specialist teachers or did they just decide this for themselves without real consultation? Drama already seemed doomed when it did not appear at all in the primary national curriculum consultation questions to . Currently it sits like a cuckoo in the nest of English and has grown in recent years. Clearly it is about to be thrown from its safe curriculum nest as a statutory part of the current English curriculum. Primary teachers and the public have not been asked whether they consider drama to be important in a primary curriculum or whether they consider it to be a subject. Ministers have not even spoken directly with National Drama, a professional association for drama and theatre educators, despite the fact we have repeatedly requested a meeting. It seems that ministers do not feel they need to talk with subject specialists unless they are from subjects they choose to acknowledge. Maybe they don't want to listen to views or research that does not fit in with their own preconceived ideas and archaic notions of what constitutes a curriculum and what learning is. Drama is a subject, even if government ministers in England, with no drama knowledge choose to decide otherwise. Are other countries that have drama in their curriculum labouring under an illusion then? How did Australia, New Zealand, Ontario, Northern Ireland and Scotland manage to produce a drama curriculum if drama is just pedagogy? Iceland is next and may be followed by Finland. Drama is a subject that can also form the basis of a particularly powerful pedagogy in schools. However, drama as pedagogy relies on teachers having drama subject knowledge, skills and in order for them to give children the chance to learn both in drama (as a subject) and through drama (as pedagogy). Stagedoor Literature: Drama in Primary English Education. This volume is part of a series which uses classroom drama to teach English as a second language. Why Teach Drama to Primary School Children? Teaching Shakespeare to Children and. Add a bit of drama into your class with a new series. Learning Through Drama in the Primary. Drama Resource Newsletter. Using Drama Activities and Techniques to Foster Teaching English. Using drama to teach English results in real communication. Readers and Drama in the Primary Classroom. Macmillan English Dictionary. Drama In Primary English Teaching - emmanuel.herokuapp.com drama is a subject despite what the government thinks - clearly it is about to be thrown from its safe.
You can't teach through a subject you have not gained knowledge of. The Df. E letter goes on to say: . They experienced it in their own education, so it must exist and it must be good. It's recognisable to ministers (not like this new fangled drama that they have never personally . Ministers are probably privileged to see Shakespeare's plays performed brilliantly by the RSC. They might ask themselves how many great English actors entered the profession because of good drama teachers in schools introducing them to drama? Ironically, reading and testing student's knowledge of Shakespeare will probably survive in schools, even if drama as a subject doesn't. Shakespeare would turn in his grave. He wrote for performance, not for tests. Maybe children in future will just read Shakespeare. After all, performing it would run the risk of acknowledging it as drama. There is a yet another insult for drama teachers lurking within the letter to Birmingham Rep from the Df. Drama In Primary English Teaching AssociationDrama In Primary English Teaching ResourcesE. It states that the review is aiming to . Is the Df. E saying here that drama is a subject but just not an important enough one for all children to have, so schools can teach if they choose (with no guidance), or are they saying drama is just a ? There is a lack of clarity in this sentence that may be deliberate. One thing is certain, the Df. E is passing the buck to schools about everything that they don't want to enforce. Is that curriculum freedom? If arts teachers want to get truly depressed, they should go to You. Tube to hear Michael Gove speaking at the Institute of Education on the 'topic', What does an educated person look like? He fidgets his way through a muddle of personal educational ideologies that leave the listener in despair. The word drama falls rapidly off the lips of Gove once, (after about 4. David Aaronovitch results in Gove immediately dropping the subject (pun intended). A few minutes later, a well- framed question from a woman in the audience (greeted by audience applause), asks him about the lack of arts in the Ebaccs. She does not receive an immediate or clear answer. When will Gove directly and honestly answer criticism about the devastating impact he is having on arts education, rather than keep churning out his 1. When will he stop retreating into invalid international comparisons selected to support his ideology? In the interview he refers glowingly and narrowly to education in Singapore as an exemplar . Does he realise that, in the past couple of years, Singapore has restructured its ministry of education, raised the profile of the arts and appointed a curriculum officer for drama? Does he realise that in 2. Singapore are coming to England to find out more about arts education in schools? Does he care? Patrice Baldwin is chair of National Drama and president of the International Drama Theatre and Education Association (Idea), as well as a member of the executive council for the World Alliance for Arts Education (WAAE). She has been a primary school headteacher, an Ofsted inspector, a local authority arts adviser and a school improvement partner. This content is brought to you by Guardian Professional. Sign up to the Guardian Teacher Network to get access to more than 1. Looking for your next role? See our Guardian jobs for schools site for thousands of the latest teaching, leadership and support jobs. The Teaching of Drama in the Primary School. NOTE: This book was published in 1. Longman commissioned a revised edition, with the new title, Teaching Primary Drama, published 2. To view or purchase this book on Amazon, click here. Stagedoor Literature: Drama in Primary English Education: Amazon. Goodacre: Libros en idiomas extranjeros. Rese. Two stories in the book have already been specially adapted and dramatized for this purpose. This volume is part of a series which uses classroom drama to teach English as a second language. Speaking the parts helps children to increase their confidence with English and no sophisticated equipment is needed.
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