I Wouldn't Teach Them Here or There....

I wouldn't teach them anywhere.
I do not like them, Sam I am,
I do not like middle schoolers, DAMN.

Sheeeeeeeeesh. We observed the Globe Educators in practice today doing one of their Lively Action workshops with the school kids today. It's nice to know that middle school age children are just the living end anywhere you go--not just in the U.S. They like to play in fountains, mess with each other's hair, sit when they're not supposed to, talk when the teacher's talking and generally be obnoxious no matter where they live. It's universal.

The practioner that I was observing, Anne, had a group of Year 8 students--think 12 or 13 year olds evidently--who were totally full of piss and vinegar. I was nearly bonkers watching them, but she was masterful at dealing with them. I later said that she was the best teacher I'd ever witnessed when it came to actually engaging students--ALL students--in the lesson and really making them get the meat of it. I was transfixed watching her work. Then, come to find out later, that she's an actor by trade, not a teacher at all. Never had any educator training other than that offered through the Globe's program for their practioners, which by all I can tell is quite intense. It was quite telling, though. She wouldn't even be able to get a teaching certificate in the States. Dear ol' George W. Bush wouldn't consider her highly qualified in any way, shape or form, yet she handled this group with more skill than I've seen in teacher's twice her age with classes half the size and ten times as discpilined. It was truly a delight to see because it was a REAL scenario, not one of those ideals that so often one witnesses when it's for show.

We were put into our performance groups and met with our director tonight. I'm totally exhausted from that and the grind of the week in general. It has been very grueling--long classes that are incredibly physical, the walking to and from class--our dorm is about a 20 minute walk, the unusually hot London weather--no rain in days on end and over 80 degrees. It's all finally taking it's toll and we're beginning to fray at the seams. Tomorrow is a "rally", which is evidently sort of British for "send the teachers running 'round London looking for Shakespearey photos and statues and get them out of our hair." They've devised an alternate walking plan, but there's no way on God's green earth I am walking from Southwark to Leicester Square, so I'll be tubing it whether my team agrees or not.


We see The Tempest tomorrow night. Supposedly a very dynamic performance. It's being done with only three actors, so that should be interesting to see. We're doing our scene from the opening of it and we've got five in it and we'll be having trouble working out all the mechanics of it since there are well over five roles in it, so I'll be interested to see how they deal with it there.