As a schoolteacher I used to avoid going shopping on the first day of the summer holidays as everywhere the big shops had giant banners saying BACK TO SCHOOL. Give me a break I used to think!
Well schools have gone back but it hasn’t been a lot of fun for them. Most pupils are confined to a classroom that doesn’t move around. There are no practical lessons, no science experiments etc. The teachers don’t move from room to room and moving around the school for everyone is all very different. Pupils have to wear masks. The teaching is mainly what we used to call chalk and talk although these days it’s more likely to be a whiteboard or even a video screen.
“It’s these interactions between us that most of us have missed.”
But come the magic day when restrictions are relaxed everyone will be allowed back to interact in what we call living! It’s funny how important little things can be like moving from lesson to lesson in school. It changes your energy. How some lessons are fine sitting at a desk and reading and writing but that’s not the only way. How important it is to do subjects that get you moving differently music, dance, drama, sport. It’s these interactions between us that most of us have missed.
We had to follow the guidelines because we understood it wasn’t just about us it was about protecting everyone else as well – especially the more vulnerable people. Some people took a while to learn it. I still remember a young guy and his girlfriend in a supermarket without masks walking up to people and daring them to say anything. I like to think they learnt it was all a bit more complicated than that but I have been impressed with how everyone has dealt with it.
Now so many yearn for that vital contact with family as we see played out on the TV news when an elderly relative in a care home meets a family member after so long. We all have people we can’t wait to see again.
“Theatre schools like ours can play a valuable part in getting back to normal.”
We can’t wait to see our Theatretrain students again before our eyes. Theatre schools like ours can play a valuable part in getting back to normal. A performing arts class moves quickly and by engaging feelings and passion it shakes up the student in a good way. It energises them, gets them to release feelings in a channelled way. Imagine a whole class belting out a favourite number at the top of their voices. That shared passion moves mountains for young people. That’s what we want to do and help them quickly find a way back to togetherness. For us the Back-to-School banners can be flown as big as they like.
At our theatre schools, we have tailored our way of working to include essential and transferable life skills into our weekly classes in acting, singing, and dancing. If you would like further information on our top-quality performing arts classes, then visit www.theatretrain.co.uk to enquire.
