Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Trials of an On Line Drama Teacher

Trials of an On Line Drama Teacher

One of my problems as a teacher of drama is that I see the potential of where my student’s plays could wind up and want to write it for them. I have learned to resist this impulse and instead make suggestions. “Have you considered this, how about that?“

Instead a voice in me says…. “When student’s hear that simpering guidance they blow you off and go off on whatever tangent they want…. Dance into Namby-Pamby land singing the tune…. My Way. You are such a wuss Percy, and you do them a disservice by not reining them in and telling them.. Look this is my class and forget about what you think, follow what the model thinks… You seem to believe that the first thing popping to mind is the optimal solution and following your intuition will take you where you need to go. But it won’t…. Follow the model and like the rainbow it will lead you to the pot of gold. That light of yours is flitting all over the place and if you chance to see Valhalla, you probably won’t recognize it when you do.

Now I know what my readers are thinking. Ah-Hah! Percy has given us a rare and honest glimpse into what a jerk he really is. Remind me never to take a class of his. However, what your missing is that what I think sometimes and what I do are two altogether different things. There is only so much a teacher can do before stepping back and letting the students try their hands at things. Failure is a great teacher and some trial and error will leave them scratching their heads. On the disjointed framework of a half assed attempt the ingredients of good writing begin to adhere and gradually students will begin to see for themselves how the theory translates into reality. In other words, try and front end load the science to the extent possible and then let then go off and fool around with it.

The result is something less than optimal but what the heck. This isn’t about the instructor it is about the student. Sure there are those that will read what the student’s write and think, this is pretty bad….That Percy doesn’t know what the heck he is talking about. He is really leading them astray. For those who reach such a conclusion I can only offer that you try teaching an E-course.

At New Horizons we are constantly in search of good writers who could become good instructors. As a matter of fact if you really want to improve as a writer try your hand at teaching. It will require you to read those references you never before had the time to fully digest and deep down didn’t think you really need bother with.

Teaching a course, The One Act Play and writing a daily blog, regardless of how many bother to read it… are experiences that have really sharpened my skills as a writer. There are several courses that are already developed that won’t be taught next semester for want of an instructor. There are still more yet to be written, that would benefit everyone. Then there are slots for assistant instructors for those who want to test the waters before jumping in.

Come on... be bold... Contact New Horizons Academy and step outside your comfort zone.