I teach drama in a pretty conservative district, so it is often hard to get sufficient funding or resources, not to mention community support. You see, people here don't seem to understand the importance of extracurricular activities. In some ways, it is a very solid community for education. People stress core educational values, and this is a good thing. We get some of the best math scores in the state, and our reading scores are well above average as well. When we want to have school musicals, however, things can get pretty tough. Often, we will have to have a school fund raiser just to hold a school play. Parents will sometimes make their kids drop out to spend more time studying, and those who do stay are not always as dedicated as they should be.
It really is a shame, because school musicals are a really valuable part of education in my opinion. Learning core subjects is great, but there is more to school than that. School is a time when students learn to feel comfortable. Public speaking is a part of this. By getting some school drama experience, students develop skills like teamwork, as well as having a chance to really shine in front of their friends, family, and community.
This year, we wanted to do a really fantastic school musical. We wanted to do something that the whole community could get behind. As a result, instead of doing the usual school Broadway musicals, we had a contest. All the students were invited to submit school musicals and plays to the drama department. Our high school musical was actually written by one of the high school students! I worked with the English department, and they allowed their students the option to work on school plays instead of essays. Although many of the students opted to try this, thinking it would be an easy way out, they were really surprised. They learned how hard it is to write a script!
What we ended up with was one of the best school musicals we ever had. It was written by several students in collaboration, and it was quite a work of art. They even entered it in some national writing contests. Parents were really interested now that I had managed to integrate the drama production with education. It really got the community behind us. Somehow, I think we will have more public support of our drama department from now on!
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