A while ago I wrote about teacher/student burnout and the cuts to education in California.

Something connected happened in a second grade drama class I was teaching in Berkeley yesterday. We were playing a warm up game called "Brain P.E." in which kids have 10-20 seconds to make little lists, as a precursor to using spontaneous thinking for improvisation. When I asked for a list of 3 things they'd like to change about the world, one boy wrote, "No School," as well as "no violence." A few hours later, I read five brilliant essays by Mike Rose in Truth Dig online magazine (recommended!), titled "Why Send Kids to School?" His comments feel important, because with a new national policy under consideration for schools, I want to know how it will affect my students.

Remember, I also noted that teachers have been pegged as the problem in the high stakes education game. Recent studies reported that the schools that were "successful" when No Child Left Behind started are still successful, and many of those that were "failing" in the past are still not doing well, in spite of massive restructuring. Could it be that teachers are being asked to fix society's and the system's ills?

But why do we need school for our children? Why not agree with my second grader, who finds school unnecessary? Can we all home school? Can everyone study online and settle for occasional live contact with a teacher?

When I asked my high school students why they should finish school and go to college, the unanimous answer was, "to get a good job and make money." But somehow this idea (they've learned it from adults) results in school being perceived as a kind of holding pen before being released into an automatic High Paying Job, or the NFL, NBA, WNBA, etc. There's something missing. What about curiosity, the pure fun of looking up a new word to see what it means, or being able to imagine solutions and try them out? And how would an economic purpose for going to school relate to the experience my Chorus students just had, doing a solo song recital on Wednesday? Words escape me to describe the joy of hearing each individual voice, touching lyrics, beautiful melodies emerge, the sound so true and lovely, in spite of nerves and the stage of technique each singer showed. Can going to school to get a job result in the human experience of shedding tears in the presence of beauty and truth, or the excitement, pride, and opening of hearts of those singers.

There are so many reasons for our young people to go to school, not the least learning to appreciate the diverse cultures on our planet and our common humanity. Not to mention, building the values and character it takes to become a responsible, thoughtful, caring adult.

Market Economy Re-Interpreted

Alright, I am an artist and a teaching artist. I spend a lot of time interpreting texts and teaching others to do so. There are gigabytes of literary interpretation in the world but still, some mystery remains. For example, the old children's rhyme: "This little piggy went to market" (working title for all I know). It remains unexplained. In light of the current non profit and economic crisis, I will make an Attempt, hopefully with the creative rigor the work is due. Let me begin. Ahem.

The ancient rhyme, "This little piggy went to market," sheds light on early understandings of the economic forces inherent in Western capitalism and had a profound influence on Adam Smith. The first line, "this little piggy went to market," clearly refers to the small stratum of the population with purchasing power. This first piggy represents the gainfully employed, perhaps with health insurance. Underlying the text is the implication that this shopper also had transportation, as it does not say, "walked to market." We also see here a monopoly, there being only one Market. This piggy's primary position in the text means that the Purchaser with money has status in the applicable culture.

The second line, "this little piggy stayed home," raises serious questions. Was the piggy ill, unemployed, lazy, or an oppressed female required stay home to do the housework and take care of the children? (The gender of the two piggy's we've studied so far is not indicated.) Or perhaps this second piggy had to stay home to fix the plumbing, which had flooded the bathroom. Note that the word 'home' will be the rhyming word, anticipating its importance in the text. In actuality, here we have the first hint of the ups and downs of the Market. The population stays home in an economic downturn. The poor stay home because of no money; the rich stay home waiting for deliveries.

The third line, "this little piggy had roast beef," points to the essence of the Market Economy: lack of equity. Roast beef is a metaphor for the good life, the American Dream of being high on the food chain. And the next line brings it pitilessly home: "this little piggy had none," a fourth line that speaks volumes. No elaboration, too bad little guy, pull yourself up by the bootstraps, no bail-out or even food stamps for you.

The last line is the most challenging of all: "This little piggy cried, 'Wee, wee, wee, wee, wee!' all the way home!" Was he euphoric from his shopping trip, on drugs, lamenting his smallness (wee bitty thing) or needing to use the restroom? Perhaps he was looking forward to time on the internet and history has foretold a misspelled wii. Or he's lonely and wants to find the 4 other pigs, or being an intellectual, he has read the story about the 3 little pigs and knows the wolf is around the corner. I will boldly offer my own answer to decades of confusion among generations of children. The fifth line clearly refers to one of two things: the last piggy either just won the lottery or he/she works for a non profit arts organization.

Ah, what propaganda hath our nursery rhyme wrought? As with all good literary interpretation, the final choice is up to you, the reader.

Teacher Student Burn Out

The rallies and demonstrations on Thursday in behalf of public education came at the right time. This is the point in the year when teacher and student moods often reflect the gray weather -- thank goodness the sun came out today! We all feel as if we've been in the classroom for months and months and months (we have), but the end is not close. As an arts provider that is both in the class room teaching and also an observer of public education, I see and feel the pain.

Burn out. Students say they're bored, teachers say they're tired. It's common knowledge that teachers often leave a school after teaching for five years, and sometimes leave the field altogether after a few years. Why? Teaching is completely consuming: for some, it feels as if it takes every ounce of energy you have. And it's not just the actual hours spent teaching students or preparing lessons. It's calling the parents, grading, keeping up with the latest online charts, going to countless meetings, mentoring, student club advisor, senior project advisor, buying supplies out of pocket, etc.

So when bad things happen, like the recent round of thefts at a school, or students are fractious, we teachers are pushed over, beyond, under and around the edge. I spoke with one wonderful teacher who is leaving to explore the world of Not-Teaching. In fact, teaching is ruining her health. And when more money is spent on prisons than on education, when teachers are blamed for everything from poor test scores to student stealing, when chairs in classrooms have seats too torn and jagged to sit on, when parents threaten teachers for their child's bad grade, teaching looks indeed like a bad deal. Especially in winter.

But in the spring, when we can see the last day of school coming and students are starting to demonstrate that they've learned, teaching may once again look like the Noble Profession it really is and should be. In some countries people stand up when a teacher enters the room and the arts are considered essential to life! Can we just shift our own country's priorities and money back to the arts and to education? Perhaps then we'll see less winter burn out and fewer great teachers leaving the students they really love, to do something else.

Mutuality

Okay, so I've talked before about Opera Piccola's interactive folk tales for multigenerational audiences, and how amazing those experiences are for us actors. This past Friday we performed our African tale, "The Stolen Aroma," for two different Oakland groups: a school for troubled children and a family homeless shelter. This is a show created for our company, with text by Oakland's own Beverly Jarrett and jazz composer Wes Riley.

There's no way to tell who had more fun-- Gift Harris and I (the performers) or the fifteen children who played the roles of the Cooks and the Elders. You might expect that children needing a special school, or homeless children, might not be the best choice to improvise complex audience volunteer roles without any preparation other than, "help the puppy," or "do what Imo says."

Wrong!

Both groups of 4 to 8 year old volunteers were the best that I can remember -- and we've done over a hundred performances of this piece. The children zapped totally into being their charcters at once, and stayed there (some continued enacting multiple characters from the story afterwards while we were packing up; one 8 year old Cook suddenly talking to me in a perfect African accent that he had not had before the show). It's hard to describe the thrill of playing a scene with a child who stuns me with some new angle to the story with his/her improvisation.

"Don't go over there, I'm warning you," said one 6 year old Elder wisely to my character (Slough Dog). "Yes, I've been lost in the desert, and I was soooo scared," sympathized another Elder when asked. "No, you can't share the food," said one loyal 5 year old Cook, determined to be Employee of the Year to the rich, greedy Imo. "Even though Imo isn't coming back? I haven't had anything to eat in five days!" "Well, okay, but just one piece."

Adult actors study for years to achieve this magical melding of self and character in order to be faithful to a powerful story. Actor's Workshop, you should have been there at the group home and the shelter on Friday. I left floating on a cloud. "The children loved it," the Case Manager said as we left. They weren't the only ones.

Black History Month

At Oakland Technical High School, where I teach Chorus and Drama through Opera Piccola, we had an amazing Black History assembly on Friday. This whole month in classes so many things have connected to this theme-- even when not initially planned to do so. Setting aside a whole month gives expanded space, opportunity and time.

I asked students of all ethnicities in my classes (African American, Chinese, Filipino, White, Latino) to say what Black History Month means to them. They all agreed. "It's about struggle and overcoming. ... thinking about our ancestors and the heroes who went before us...... to stop racism and hatred...... to try our best now because of what they did."

Music Teacher David Byrd: "What I love is that we accept as part of us anyone who has experienced oppression. I want people to know there are Black people all over the world--India, Middle East, Asia, Europe, Cuba, everywhere-- so I have students learn Brazilian jazz this month."

Valentine's Daze

I asked high school students (random sampling) how they liked Valentine' s Day. About half said, "it's cool, a chance to tell someone you love them." Another almost half said they hated it. "It hurts when you're alone." "Your girlfriend gets mad if you don't get her a bunch of stuff." There appears to be some pressure or else excitement about purchasing stuff. Good for the economy, good for love?

An older woman shared, "I just broke up with myboyfriend of many years. This happy happy talk is painful."

As I 've been reading about women's rights and feminism this week, a thought stands out. Valentine's establishes women as the princesses who must receive the flowers, candy, jewels from men -- or ... Like the wedding ceremony in which the father "gives away" the bride in marriage, the princess image is disappearing along with other historically patriarchal customs.

Or is it? Disney rakes in cash with ices shows attended by happy young girls in their princess costumes. At a recent Opera Piccola performance, when I asked for volunteers from the audience to help with our show, a little girl said excitedly, "Yes, I'll be the Princess."! Our Mayan folk tale only has costumes for frogs, trees, clouds and wind.

Glee

"I just loved it so much I have to give every one of you a hug." At Grand Lake Gardens Retirement home.

At AgeSong, for Alzheimer's patients: "Did you see? Stanley said for the whole concert and enjoyed it! He doesn't sit still more than five minutes usually and he's always unhappy."
And, "We don't get serenaded like this very often."

"Can I dance? Your singing gives me- pep!" And: "This was wonderful. I'd like to write a letter to support the program. Who should I write to?" At Piedmont Gardens Retirement home.

Opera Piccola's small chorus at Oakland Tech High -- three young men and ten young women from ninth through 12 grades-- comes sleepily to practice once a week at 7:30 AM. By the time our fifty minutes of vocal technique and learning music is over, we're all feeling pretty good about the day ahead of us. We have to relax, breathe deeply and listen to all the pitches that hang in the air around us. Studies have shown the value of music performance on brains and bodies and emotions, but whatever the science of it, it's true. An interesting thing is that a singer doesn't really get to enjoy hearing his/her own voices while s/he is singing, because it sounds different inside the head from what the "audience" hears. It's better to be in the present, and let go the product.

Singing for the senior citizens yesterday, some of whom were quite ill with dementia, gave us the good feeling of the act of singing but also the good feeling of giving. Especially since our society regards seniors as people who've "lived their lives and had their chance," so we don't really need to pay attention to them. Their listening gave back to us and what a joy it was.