Horace Mann - Summer 2016 - 9

Team Up in First U.S. K-12 Partnership Enlivening a classical tradition "Horace Mann School's work with the Royal Shakespeare Company is among the most exciting things taking place at HM today," said Horace Mann Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly. "We were first in touch with the RSC's Education department several years ago, and in 2015 RSC instructors and some of the Company's actors came to HM from England to work with our students and teachers. The energy in the classrooms they visited was palpable. Witnessing students gain a new way to interact with Shakespeare was truly inspiring." Of HM's subsequent work with the RSC Dr. Kelly added, "Each visit has resulted in increasingly powerful connections with Shakespeare as both the students and teachers become more comfortable incorporating the RSC's rehearsal method into their Shakespeare studies, whether they devote just one class to this technique, or use it throughout their exploration of a play. Shakespeare has always been an important part of the HM curriculum, and always will be. The works are essential to the classical education upon which learning at Horace Mann School is based. The characters and situations that Shakespeare brought to life over 400 years ago are remarkably relevant to our world today, no matter how much more globally interconnected society is, or how much more diverse is our population, including in our own Horace Mann School community. "That was apparent at a screening we did at HM of the RSC's production of 'Othello' for our 10th graders," said Dr. Kelly. "After seeing the film the students had the opportunity to have a live Q & A with the director Iqbal Kahn and with Oxford Professor of Shakespeare Studies Emma Smith, who are giants in the theater and Shakespeare world. Our students asked perceptive questions about the treatment of race in the play and in this production, as well how and why certain music and lighting elements were incorporated. Issues of race are of great concern to our students. They're also highly attuned to music and design. The opportunity to discuss these topics with such esteemed professionals was valuable. "It is especially gratifying to hear from our expert Shakespeare educators, who've fostered a love of Shakespeare in so many students and alumni over the years, that our work with the RSC is enlivening their teaching," Dr. Kelly said. HM and the RSC also included outreach to the community outside of Horace Mann School as part of the partnership they forged together. Thus, on each U.S. visit, RSC instructors work with students in the intensive Summer on the Hill (SOH) year-around enrichment program for students from the Bronx, Washington Heights, and Harlem that's held at HM every Saturday and over the summer. (A News 12 broadcast about the RSC's work with SOH can be found here: http://bronx.news12.com/multimedia/english-stagecompany-visits-bronx-workshop-1.10030358 In June 2015 and 2016 HM invited teachers from public and independent schools throughout the New York City area to participate in an intensive two-day workshop with RSC educators, at the cost only of registration. A follow-up workshop was held at HM in October 2015, and another follow-up is planned for this fall. OSU-RSC educators co-facilitated the 2015 teacher workshop. "We feel very privileged to be involved in this partnership with the RSC. As the only school in the U.S., aside from Ohio photo by Ruth Seligman rience of seeing the plays performed live. In the mid-2000s the RSC's Education branch worked with students, teachers, actors and theater professionals to determine how to best inspire in students a lasting appreciation of Shakespeare. The result was nothing short of a "manifesto." Named "Stand Up for Shakespeare" this manifesto calls for students to: "Do Shakespeare on their Feet; See it Live; Start it Early." "Stand Up for Shakespeare" entered the U.K.'s educational landscape in 2006, reaching over 600,000 young people in the ensuing decade. Gone was the rote classroom reading of often impenetrable texts, as teachers and students adopted the RSC's "on your feet" approach to "doing" Shakespeare, that includes moving around the room, eye contact, soundscape and visualizing exercises. These exercises, and dozens more, engage the senses, awaken the intellect, and result in increased attention, advanced literacy, and the kind of social-emotional learning that opens up even the most reserved students to assume leadership roles, as RSC research shows. Often, students practice these exercises even before they are introduced to a play's plot or characters. An additional element of the RSC's outreach within U.K. schools brings students to live RSC productions, while filmed-live plays are shown at schools. The third element, "Start it Early" introduces the Bard to students in the youngest grades. In 2009 the RSC entered into its first partnership with an educational institution in the United States-at Ohio State University. Through this program, OSU professors, actors, students and researchers work with students at public schools throughout Ohio to promote not only knowledge of Shakespeare, but literacy, drama education and leadership. They also conduct significant research concerning the value of teaching Shakespeare, and the impact the RSC's "active learning" initiatives have on learning overall. In 2015 the RSC launched its second-ever U.S. partnership-at Horace Mann School. RSC Education Associate Practitioner Rachel Gartside brings Shakespeare to a Saturday morning Summer on the Hill class. Horace Mann Magazine Summer 2016 9 http://bronx.news12.com/multimedia/english-stage-company-visits-bronx-workshop-1.10030358 http://bronx.news12.com/multimedia/english-stage-company-visits-bronx-workshop-1.10030358

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Summer 2016