What should we be teaching when we teach Drama as a subject at Secondary School? What is Drama? What is Theatre? Are the two related? Should we limit the scope of our subject to Theatre? Why should be teach Drama? Continue reading What does it mean to teach Drama in Secondary School?
When planning what to teach next year and any potential change, it is important to consider the boundaries, limitations and potential scope of what you can do. These may be boundaries that are placed by your circumstances or the situation with Drama in your school. Not all of us live in an ideal world where we can do everything we would want, so it is important that we understand the parameters of what we can do. Continue reading 6 Things to consider when planning for next year
There are a multitude of books to read about our subject of Drama but there are also excellent curriculum books out there that have really helped shape my view of what I teach and the way I teach it. Here are my top five recommendations for curriculum books to read. Continue reading My five curriculum books to read
There have been a lot of developments in education in the last 10 years, especially at Key Stage 3 and within the National Curriculum. Changes which have a massive knock on effect on Drama. Yet regardless of how vigorous, reasoned, or passionate any argument from the Drama Teaching establishment was, all protests fell on deaf ears. A harsh reality needs to be remembered here. From the very moment Drama was left out of the National Curriculum, there has been no reason for the Government to include Drama in any of its plans. Continue reading History of Drama in Education Part 6: Differences, arguments and existential crises.
In his 1997 book, The GCSE Drama Coursebook, Andy Kempe writes about the excellent health of Drama. He estimates that about 70,000 young people were choosing to take GCSE Drama by the late 1990’s. Drama appeared to be booming 10 years into the National Curriculum. Ten years after it appeared and feared that Drama lost forever. Continue reading History of Drama in Education Part 5: Process Drama
This is part four of a series of articles chronicling the history of Drama and Theatre in Education. It is important. It is important to understand where the subject of Drama has come from. What baggage it comes with. How perceptions of the subject have changed over the years. How that baggage and perceptions effect the subject today. Continue reading History of Drama in Education Part 4: Mantle of the Expert and the National Curriculum
