I believe in the ability of every human to learn and evolve. Everyone has talents, but ‘Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole live believing that it is stupid’ (Albert Einstein). Therefore it is important that a teacher creates a safe, challenging environment and that he has an eye for the individual.
I also like to encourage students to develop themselves: Are you shy? Even so, you still need to try, if only at first for only a few minutes. I’ll give you the tools and hints and I’ll create a safe environment in which you can take up the challenge to dare. From a safe start we can expand and make challenges bigger.
Last year, I wrote a children’s novel that was situated at a school. On the last page, after exciting and funny adventures, I wrote a statement I truly believe in: ‘Errors do not exist, lessons do’. In other words: don’t be afraid to make mistakes, you’ll learn from it.
Very important for me in teaching creative subjects is thinking out of the box. Looking to a situation at a different angle will lead to more creative thinking.
To stimulate creativity, I challenge the students to think differently. I ask them for instance to consider an ordinary teacup. Is it just a cup? I provoke them to give out of the box answers, like: the ear of a prehistoric animal, a swimming pool for flies etc.
I prepare my lessons well. I set a goal, like in Drama: Students should be able to play the physical part of a character; or in Creative Writing: students can handle five sentences in writing a story.
Therefore I start with a warming up followed by preparatory assignments. In the end I ask the students to perform the main instruction.
When I am working on a play with students each meeting has also a different goal. First we build a character, then I pay attention to text interpretation, mis-en-scène, teamwork, use of space, voice therapy etc., and finally we practice the play.
I love creativity and to convey that to students. For me Drama and Creative Writing is delicate and serious matter, also bringing about a lot of fun!