timidity

This is countdown week to the drama presentations to be given on Saturday morning at Affinity. Drama represents hard work for many people in the school. Of course one thinks first of the children involved.

​They are required to stand and present lines in an expressive manner and many of them in a second language! That would be a big task for most of us adults! But in this mix we also have the teachers who one and all begin to lose some sleep, worrying about the many details that come up. Then we have parents who might hear some complaints at home. "I can't do it!" "I don't want to wear. . .!"
 
However, we need to keep sight of the goal. Why drama? What value does it have for the child?
 
We can look at the process of maturity, first outlined by Piaget. He gave a clear outline in this idea of the famous concentric circles. At the center of the circle is the baby,  To the baby he or she is the most important being in the world. His or her wants and needs are all that exist. The second circle around the baby is the mother and then another is the family. Now new difficulties begin to present themselves. Other people in the family also have wants and needs. These need to be adjusted and negotiated. The little being begins to learn to express his or her needs but in an acceptable manner of some give and take. 
 
As each child enters another concentric circle--the school, the community, the country, the world--new tests and difficulties present themselves. One in four persons, research tells us, really suffers as these stages present themselves. They can become frightened of so much change, unsure of themselves, and a tendency to retire into themselves. We may say these children are timid.
 
This is where drama presentations come in. At first many are very reluctant to participate. But we teachers can see yearly progress. More and more certainty appears, more expression, a greater ability to portray the feelings of others and understand them. With these new skills, confidence develops and the next stage is easier. 
 
So we at Affinity hope to see you on Saturday to witness and help take part in this awesome developmental process! Next month is our instrument recital. The gains of getting up to produce music in front of an audience are also the same, an important piece of Affinity philosophy.

Hope to see you Saturday!
​
Sue Frasunkiewicz

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