Thoughts...

Justice without power is empty

Power without justice is violence.

A warrior always has his blade sharpened, but never uses it without a cause.

Introduction..personal statement

I completed my FdA Drama & Theatre Production Degree in the summer of 2011 gaining a 2:1 overall.  Drama has been a passion all my life and is something that I have always been interested in, hence the reason why I pursued this pathway into higher education.  It was during my time at Middlesex University that I realised how transferable the skills in Drama & Theatre are in relation to teaching and learning.  It was this realisation that persuaded me to engage in teaching as part of my industrial placement for my degree, completing 20 days work at Willowfield Humanities College in 2011 as a teaching assistant.
During my work at Willowfield School I was asked to work with many different students from many diverse backgrounds, some with (SEN/ SLD) one if which had severe communication difficulties with both staff and other students.  I was asked to spend several lessons with him and at first he did not respond.  Eventually I was able to engage with him by drawing, and performing the work with him, which promoted him to verbally respond to what I was doing, something that his teachers and fellow students had found difficulty in doing.

It was after my experiences at Willowfield that I realised there are many ways in which to communicate information, especially using the visual, which was something I could draw on because of my degree programme.  By making drama/theatre visual it gives access to the audience to engage and learn something, which goes hand in hand with learning in the classroom, as demonstrated with my work at Willowfield.  Creating and making theatre also requires you to be very supportive of the people you work with, again something that relates heavily to teaching, to create the right environment for individuals to express themselves.

As part of my programme of study I worked with a community group called ‘Community Focus’ in which we were required to create a piece of theatre to promote inclusion.  The Community Focus clients had a range of disabilities, some with mental health issues, some with behavioural issues and some with physical disabilities,  but the mantra of the work was to make it inclusive in order to gain confidence and to challenge barriers through integration.  This community work gave me experiences and skill in creating constructive and supportive relationship with people and to interact with them according to individual needs.
Having had a baby in the Autumn of 2011 I am very keen now to become involved in Education and with more time and experience would very much like to do a PGCE.  Firstly however I am very keen to gain more experience in the classroom and to support and learn from more established and qualified teachers.

I am a quick learner and adapt well to new surroundings realising that teamwork and a good understanding of the environment are paramount to the role.  I am very keen to forge myself a career in teaching

I have participated in a variety of performances, having performed in Poland and visited berlin to see jerzy grotowski’s theatre , throughout my performances I have received an immense sensation of wanting to always make improvements and pushing myself to the limit