Open Forum

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

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Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
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I am very familiar with frequent absenteeism. I experience it every year with every show. If I waited for everyone to be there, I'd never do a show. I always have at least one back up plan for everyone.

That said, here are some ideas you can either take or leave:
* You could have them bring a note from home/doctor or they aren't excused.
* Even with a note, they missed a major assessment. They need to perform anyway with their partner. Invite another class or something and have them perform so they don't get out of it entirely and still have a large audience other than the immediate class, before whom I am guessing they have already shared this work.
* Next time, they need to do monologues or only a scene with a student assistant or another student who wants to earn another proficiency grade perhaps, beyond their required work...the same scene for all three absentee students.
* They get zero. They missed a major performance and get nothing. That impacts their overall grade for participation. Then, they'll have to demonstrate their proficiency in the content still.
* They need to write a letter to their scene partner about their lack of follow through and another to their replacement for saving the day. You determine what that content should be.
* Meet with the parent/guardian and student. Perhaps if it's frequent, it is time to have the tough conversation about commitment. Not fun, but an option.

:)

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Jo Strom Lane
Theatre Teacher and Director
Portland Public Schools
Portland OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

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Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

It does sound like students are pushing it a bit.
You need to come up with a standard, difficult, make-up assignment that they do on their own.
I like research papers or writing original one act plays.
You should also give public praise and extra credit to the lids who stepped up at the last minute.

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Billy Houck
Sunnyvale CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

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Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

Billy, I've certainly used the writing assignment as alternative when having missed a performance in my career, but I'm becoming increasingly distressed about this avenue as a lot of schools move toward standard-based grading because if the standards being assessed are performance standards, then doing a non-performance task is not addressing the standard in question.

Again, I too have used it.  It's just a quandary I'm mired in presently.

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Ryan Moore
Ferndale MI
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-22-2014 15:35
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Sick Students

It does sound like students are pushing it a bit.
You need to come up with a standard, difficult, make-up assignment that they do on their own.
I like research papers or writing original one act plays.
You should also give public praise and extra credit to the lids who stepped up at the last minute.

-------------------------------------------
Billy Houck
Sunnyvale CA
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

-------------------------------------------
Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

Billy, I've certainly used the writing assignment as alternative when having missed a performance in my career, but I'm becoming increasingly distressed about this avenue as a lot of schools move toward standard-based grading because if the standards being assessed are performance standards, then doing a non-performance task is not addressing the standard in question.

Again, I too have used it.  It's just a quandary I'm mired in presently.

-------------------------------------------
Ryan Moore
Ferndale MI
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-22-2014 15:35
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Sick Students

It does sound like students are pushing it a bit.
You need to come up with a standard, difficult, make-up assignment that they do on their own.
I like research papers or writing original one act plays.
You should also give public praise and extra credit to the lids who stepped up at the last minute.

-------------------------------------------
Billy Houck
Sunnyvale CA
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

-------------------------------------------
Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

This is always a tough issue. I haven't had a ton of trouble in this area. When I do the kdis tend to step up on their own to help out their fellows. For the kids who missed I require parent confirmation on why they were unable to attend. Unless it is something that is truly beyond their control or an emergency the most they can get credit for is 50% of the original grade. People in any performing area manage to get their jobs done with illness, injuries, and other difficulties. It is part of our world. I point out ot my kids the sorts of things I've performed though (inlcuding some from when I was a teenager). If I can perform with a "hurt" back then so can they. Yes, the physical abilities will be limited but a back doesn't affect the ability to say lines. The only thing should be truly affected by this are physical acting.

I also tell the other students that I will grade them appropriately. It is not their fault that they couldn't rely on their partners. It's not fair that they have to perform under less than ideal circumstances, but that happens in realy life as well.

If someone misses a performance it directly affects their casting in future pieces; including class pieces. There is always grunt work that can happen. Next time try having anyone who missed a performance folding programs, organizing script shelves, or (if you want to be really mean) give them a bowl of random hardware and have them seperate it. When they finsh sweep it all back into the bowl. They'll fuss about all the work that was just ruined and you can associate it to the original scene partner. In that case the partner did all of the seperating of the hardware (rehearsing for the performance) and they swept it back into the bowl (the performance that was missed). Just some ideas. Good luck!

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Shira Schwartz
Chandler Unified School District
Chandler AZ
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-24-2014 07:40
From: Ryan Moore
Subject: Sick Students

Billy, I've certainly used the writing assignment as alternative when having missed a performance in my career, but I'm becoming increasingly distressed about this avenue as a lot of schools move toward standard-based grading because if the standards being assessed are performance standards, then doing a non-performance task is not addressing the standard in question.

Again, I too have used it.  It's just a quandary I'm mired in presently.

-------------------------------------------
Ryan Moore
Ferndale MI
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-22-2014 15:35
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Sick Students

It does sound like students are pushing it a bit.
You need to come up with a standard, difficult, make-up assignment that they do on their own.
I like research papers or writing original one act plays.
You should also give public praise and extra credit to the lids who stepped up at the last minute.

-------------------------------------------
Billy Houck
Sunnyvale CA
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

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Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

This is a tough one!  We have had a case of mono at the last minute and my actress still went on stage, but a student with recurring migraines had to be replaced.  It is hard to call, but the health of the student is always first. To meet our needs, I try to avoid ambiguous expectations and keep the standard with few exceptions.

All of my rehearsals and shows are graded as an extension of class time, so a student must produce a medical excuse that is approved by my principal in order to be excused.  As previously mentioned, then the alternative assignment.  Since shows are cumulative, the alternative assignment is large (paper, project and presentation) to show a semester's work.   When I know a student has a documented history of medical absences, and this just seems to happen to some, I try to give them a smaller role or a non-acting responsibility.  It seems to relieve their stress and work well for them while keeping them part of the group.

I allow two absences for any reason from rehearsal before someone is considered for replacement in a major role and that seems to solve most issues. When two absences occur, we meet and discuss what needs to be done.  That is in the contract, of course, and we go over that point at the beginning of the semester. 

It is always case by case...good luck and please share any ideas!

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Georgann Lanich
Teacher
Tallulah Falls School
Lakemont GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-22-2014 15:35
From: Billy Houck
Subject: Sick Students

It does sound like students are pushing it a bit.
You need to come up with a standard, difficult, make-up assignment that they do on their own.
I like research papers or writing original one act plays.
You should also give public praise and extra credit to the lids who stepped up at the last minute.

-------------------------------------------
Billy Houck
Sunnyvale CA
-------------------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

-------------------------------------------
Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------

It sounds to me as if there are a couple of issues here: how to get students to commit to performance, and how to grade in the case of absences.

In two months of rehearsal, there must have been times when students were absent. If every single student has an understudy, then those days when one partner is missing are not missed rehearsal days.  Each person is also responsible for learning two scenes, one as a performer, one as an understudy.  It gives a strong message that there are no excuses for not rehearsing, and no one person is indispensable.  

I give rehearsal grades and performance grades.  When a student is absent from a performance, no matter the reason, that student gets a zero for not performing that particular show on that particular day.  Headache, flu, emergency room--it doesn't matter in my grade book.  I have a set of authentic learning projects that students can do to make up lost credit, but the loss of credit for missing a performance is just not negotiable.

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C. J. Breland
Asheville NC
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2014 11:42
From: Tara Sullivan
Subject: Sick Students

My advanced theatre students had a performance last night.  It was a night of two person Shakespearean scenes that the students have been working on for two months.  Last week, one girl fell ill and we had to replace her so her scene partner would be able to perform.  Yesterday, the day of the performance, another student "hurt his back" playing basketball and so I had to pull another student in to take his place but I luckily had a 6 hours to get the new student ready.  Then, an hour before the performance I get a text from another student saying he had a migraine and would not be coming to the show.  So I had to go on stage to replace him. I was heartbroken for their scene partners who had put so much energy in to preparing and then they had to perform under poor conditions. I am at a loss with how to deal with this issue.  I feel like when the first student backed out, it opened the door for the other two to think it wasn't that big of a deal if they didn't tough it out.  All three students have very poor attendance.  I am seeing an epidemic of kids and parents who think it is okay to miss school for any little thing. But what can you do if they are genuinely sick? I really feel like these students could have all muscled through it, but is that fair?  How do I grade these kids?  What message does this send to the other students?  When I was acting, it would have taken the loss of limb to keep me off the stage and even then I might have still gone on.

-------------------------------------------
Tara Sullivan
Theatre Arts Teacher
Boise ID
-------------------------------------------