Sunday, September 21, 2014

Masters in Theatre

I've been feeling very reminiscent about teaching this week. We started this new book in one of my grad classes "Master Teachers of Theatre" and it stirred up a myriad of emotions hidden inside of me. I love teaching. I love directing. I love acting. I love making music. But there is something about teaching that is built in me, as if my insides are hard-wired to "assume the teacher identity," in some capacity.

Teaching, for me, is about being forthright and sharing myself with the people in the room. Being humble enough, on the daily, to ask inner-Abigail "did that work for the people or just sound good in your head?" Teaching is about creating a safe haven for my students to feel freedom in their own skin, allowing for mistakes to be made, while demonstrating strong character and encouraging them to be the best version of themselves. It's about classroom management- yes, I actually like classroom management!- the challenge of being better because students want to be in that room, in that moment, learning about what I'm passionate about. Being a teacher forces me to grow up. I have to be in charge. I have to constantly be learning new things, but I'm also constantly learning from other people- which is awesome. Growing up is where it's at, without those four years in public education, I don't know where who I'd be right now!

Anyway...Graduate School is a whole different kind of growing and stretching. It's a whole new ballgame over here. I'm so happy for this change, I know 100% that it's the right one. While I loved teaching, classroom wasn't the right fit for me, this is EXACTLY where I'm supposed to be right now. BUT I'm completely out of my comfort zone right now, WHICH IS GREAT, because that's where I like to live life- makes for SO much more growing up. (Even if it means I'm scared out of my mind half of the time.)