Horace Mann - Summer 2016 - 13

Teaching the teachers The HM-RSC teaching corps members began transmitting their growing knowledge of and comfort level with RSC techniques to colleagues at faculty and department meetings during the past year. They also advised colleagues with questions about how to implement RSC techniques. On one March morning students in English teacher and Middle Division Grade Dean Chris Lacopo's '80 eighth-grade class scattered in small groups across HM's Rose Hall Atrium, working out how to depict a scene from "Henry V." Lacopo had introduced his students to exercises gleaned from RSC HM parents had a chance to experience the RSC methods their children are learning at a workshop for parents at HM in November 2015. teaching corps colleagues, and from the RSC educators. "That helped me see the texts venture. One step better might be experiencing that inspir"through the students' perspective," Lacopo said. "This ing class along with their child. HM offered parents somework allows kids to play with a situation and come to more thing close last November, by inviting them to an evening thoughtful approaches to the text by having to make deciof RSC workshops that provided them a chance to explore sions about how to act a scene." Shakespeare just as their children are. A longtime teacher of Shakespeare Lacopo noted that Amanda Salzhauer's 11th-grader "raved about the experi"looking at the plays through some of the RSC exercises ence," she had with the RSC teachers, so Salzhauer went to further develops the active approach to teaching in general the workshop "to see the RSC educators in action," she said. the Middle Division already applies." Lacopo said the RSC's "The group I participated with was preparing a scene Chris White was "quite helpful" in guiding him through from 'Romeo and Juliette.' Much of the time was spent doing questions he had about employing RSC techniques. "I'm enphysical activities-walking around the room conveying a joying using these methods as one more way to engage stuspecific attitude, or avoiding a particular person. The (RSC) dents. The approach makes the most sense, maybe for all stu- leaders then asked us to share our reaction to the exercises, dents, but certainly for middle school-age students. Engaged and related them to how the characters might feel in the is the best word to describe this transformation," Lacopo opening scene of 'Romeo and Juliette.'" said. "I'm looking to expand my use of the techniques, and Samantha Brand '01 loved studying Shakespeare in her I assume I will be learning more from my colleagues." A HM days and served for two years as Shakespeare Club participant in the 2016 summer teacher workshop he added, president. The parent of a third-grader and a kindergar"Bringing these methods more deeply into the fabric of how tener student she reported, "The opportunity to work with we teach will make this effort worthwhile." the RSC performers was terrific. They're the home office. All of the Middle Division's sixth-grade English teachWe were able to experience how the students are learning ers employed RSC techniques, taught with the assistance of Shakespeare, as they broke the parents into groups. When their HM-RSC teaching team colleagues, in preparing the the small groups came back to show everyone else the entire grade for a presentation to parents of "A Midsummer scenes we'd worked on there were so many different interNight's Dream" at the close of the year. In the Lower pretations. That's a different experience from discussing Division, First Grade Team Leader Jean Eifert transmitted Shakespeare in class. No matter how much I loved readher RSC training to Lower Division colleagues, in the grade's ing Shakespeare and having those classroom discussions entry into Shakespeare. "Molly French, Alex Levinson, Shakespeare has to be seen and spoken to be understood." Adina Goodman and Meghan Boulhosa have all taught RSCBrand recalled participating in HM's Shakespeare Revels, style lessons," Eifert said. when students would work out different ways to perform various scenes. "But that took place just once a year," she HM Parents embrace the RSC technique noted. "This approach is interdisciplinary. It instructs Few school-related experiences mean more to parents than students not only in the literature, but in how to work in hearing their children's enthusiasm over a new learning adgroups, and how to work together. The students will learn Horace Mann Magazine Summer 2016 13 photo by Jasmin Ortiz Team Up in First U.S. K-12 Partnership

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