Recently I prepped my class for a tunnel of oppression project. I was under the impression that I’d hipped them to the gravity of the situation and the level of effort required to create the tunnel environment. Now of the two groups/skits my class was responsible for, neither seemed prepared for setup at the level that was expected. We walked into our area and saw two other skits looking outstanding and clearly felt overmatched. So, why? I think that a part of that is my responsibility. Its like the coach who gets fired because his team loses a bunch of games. The losses are his fault to an extent–for not making the most out of what s/he had and not preparing his/her players. I feel that as a youth coach and feel it as a teacher especially when the students aren’t properly prepped for the task.
So, why weren’t they ready? For starters, its a developmental class competing with on ors and 200 level courses. Most of the kids I have are first semester college students and are trying on college for size. This reads like an excuse, but I mean it to sound like a condition. Having diagnosed that condition I am responsible for simplifying the tasks to an extent and providing strong enough instructions and time on task to get the work done. I feel like I could have done better with instructions (story of my life) but I also feel like the instructions really become boundaries to creativity to a certain extent. The students formed cogent ideas and executed scripts that felt both realistic and powerful. They just didn’t look as polished and professional as I wanted.
In the end I will learn from the event and I will become a better and stronger and more organized instructor as a result. I’m glad we are doing the tunnel, and I truly hope it comes off well.