Hello!
I am a Middle School Drama Teacher.
Our school has proposed a new schedule that would begin in the 24-25 school year. Nothing is set in stone as of now.
This schedule is an Intensive Block Schedule where students would take 2-3 courses a year and meet every day in these courses for a 5 week period. After that five week period they would move to another elective that wouldn't necessarily be drama. It is possible I would see students for 5 weeks during the year and then never teach them in class again that year until the next academic school year.
I am extremely concerned at this schedule change as it would mean taking my full year drama course and condensing it into a 5 week course where I see the students every day. My classes are process based so I do a lot of work with technique and skills but do not use my classes as rehearsals for productions. The only rehearsal periods they have in my class are for scenes during scene study and monologue work.
This would mean that memorization would need to be done in one night in order for the class to move in the same way it has, but as we know, memorization of a 2 minute monologue in Middle School takes more than one night of practice.
I am trying to find models of schools with performing arts programs that use this type of Intensive block schedule and somehow make it work. I am also open to any research that states that learning in the arts takes time. It is of my belief that seeing a student every other day for a 73 minute block period over the course of an entire year is more beneficial than seeing a student for 120 minutes every day for a little over a month. I don't think, and maybe this is naive of me, that a student would be able to learn to play the cello successfully in five weeks.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
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Karlie Kohler
Middle School Drama Teacher
Miami Country Day School
FL
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