7 Essential Tips for New Drama Teachers

Congratulations, you bought a job as a drama trainer! Here are seven important suggestions that may show you how to make it by your first yr of instructing theatre.

1. Be ready.

This is the primary tip for brand spanking new drama academics: Be ready. That means do your homework and be prepared with a curriculum, lesson plans, and a construction in your courses BEFORE the varsity yr begins. Once college students stroll by your door, you’ll not have the power to make amends for primary classroom planning, so have these supplies prepared forward of time. Do your finest to have lesson plans and supplies prepared a minimum of a day or two earlier than you want them, and work to remain forward of schedule. It could also be exhausting for the primary couple of weeks, however if you happen to get behind early your whole calendar can unravel, and that’s extremely nerve-racking. So make it a precedence to be ready and keep ready.

2. Have a classroom administration plan.

Having a classroom administration plan is as essential, if no more essential, than having lesson plans. If your classroom is in a relentless state of chaos it doesn’t matter how nice your lesson plans are, your college students are by no means going to study something. That’s why it’s essential to create a useful classroom administration plan. This plan ought to embrace your guidelines and expectations for the way college students will behave in your classroom, in addition to the implications for breaking these guidelines or not assembly these expectations. Once you’ve got a plan, educate it to your college students early and sometimes, and be stubbornly constant in following it. Your college students will take pleasure in your courses far more once they acknowledge that there are efficient guidelines and rules in place. Professional consistency with classroom administration is a trademark of extremely efficient instructing, so have a plan and keep on with it.

3. Organize your house.

Drama academics usually get positioned in “alternative” instructing areas. That means your courses might be held in a classroom, an auditorium, a “cafetorium,” or just a big open house that’s accessible someplace within the faculty. No matter what house you might be assigned, take the time earlier than courses begin to examine and arrange it in your courses. Think by way of managing the house in all of the completely different configurations you’ll use (lecture, rehearsal, analysis, efficiency, and so on.), and the way college students will work together with the house. Try to reduce or get rid of areas the place college students can conceal or get into mischief. Think of your classroom as a “work” house, not a “play” house, after which arrange it for max effectivity.

4. Check your know-how.
No matter what classroom house you’re assigned, you will want working know-how. Whether it’s a functioning sensible board or dependable entry to the web, a contemporary classroom can’t perform with out know-how. However, as a drama trainer, there is no such thing as a assure that your classroom house can have any know-how in any respect, not to mention useful know-how. Spaces just like the auditorium or gymnasium might not have any know-how assigned to them in any respect, so get into your house as rapidly as potential and decide what know-how is accessible. If you discover your house is lacking crucial tools, or in case your tools isn’t working, let your administration know IMMEDIATELY. Fixing these sorts of issues can take weeks, and till your classroom is technologically proficient, you’ll not be absolutely useful.

5. Coordinate together with your crew.

New academics have a steep studying curve. In your first weeks and months of instructing you will want to study every little thing from learn how to full “mandatory district initiatives” to the place the trainer’s lavatory is. However, you shouldn’t should study all of this by your self. As a brand new trainer there ought to be assist out of your administration and fellow academics, particularly academics in your division. Seek out your division chair or space coordinator and ask if you happen to could be assigned a mentor in your first few years. Most skilled educators are pleased to take a brand new trainer below their wing and present them the ropes. In addition, there are sometimes assistant principals who’re assigned to oversee and assist new academics, so discover out who your assigned admin is and set up a superb relationship with them. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and search assist if you want it.

6. Know (and execute) your duties.

In addition to your instructing assignments additionally, you will be assigned “duties.” These are school-wide duties and duties which are assigned to academics, reminiscent of monitoring the cafeteria or supervising the bus lot. You will likely be assigned these duties by your administration primarily based on the wants of the varsity and your schedule availability. Make certain your duties and take them severely. If you might be unable to finish your assigned duties, let your admin know instantly. Administrators anticipate you to execute your assigned duties day-after-day with out fail, and you’ll anticipate to listen to out of your administration if you’re not at your assigned put up.

7. Protect your voice.

If you’ve got by no means been a full-time trainer earlier than, you most likely aren’t conscious of the pressure it places in your voice. It’s not unusual for brand spanking new academics to lose their voice within the first week of college, and once they do, there may be little time for restoration. As you might be making ready for the beginning of the varsity yr, have a plan for self-care that features defending your voice: Drink loads of water, attempt to not yell, and relaxation your voice when you’ll be able to. Full-time instructing is exhausting, so plan, put together, and get loads of relaxation. Remember, the varsity yr is a marathon, not a dash, and you will want to tempo your self to final all the yr.

Additional Reading:
Advice for New Drama Teachers Series: Planning Ahead
What are your finest suggestions for brand spanking new drama academics?