I am currently working with some teenagers on a project centered around some of Stephen Sondheim's work - Sweeney Todd in particular. It's heavy stuff to tackle with a group of teenagers and although some of them appear to be taking it all in their stride and enjoying themselves, others look at me as though the only thing left to do is dribble down the sides of their faces. It's all rather frustrating because they knew what they were in for (as did their parents, for that matter) and knew that the material we would be working with would require some amount of 'brain power'.
Doing these workshops has certainly confirmed to me that I could never go into teaching in a secondary school, or in any school for that matter. There is nothing worse than sweating with enthusiasm for the thing you are talking about, getting more and more excited about the potential of the group you are working with, when someone fires their hand in the air and proudly asks "When's Lunch?" This happened to me today and I could have floored the child, but resisted and gave her a wide-eyed look that probably killed any appetite that she had previously had.
I used to be quite a good 'teacher' or 'facilitator', but I think I have lost my touch. Sometimes, though, I can't help but think that young people are generally uninterested in most things these days and prefer the easy route. I wasn't really like that as a teenager, at least I don't think I was. I was always up for learning new things and enjoyed new challenges that stretched the brain a little. Maybe I'm a different breed... but it's frustrating nonetheless.
It's been a strange day all around. On the up side, I picked up a Saxophone for the first time today and managed to work it all out. In fact, I think playing it has cured my numb bottom lip because it hasn't stopped tingling all day. The docs told me I would never get the feeling back, so this is surely a good sign. It would appear that music saves the day again.
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