It feels so good tonight to be finishing up my blog and making sure everything is in order. I have had so much work in the last couple of weeks that I had no time keep up with this, like I finished the PRU in April and have only just managed to get it up.
Well, after handing in one of my biggest assignmnets earlier today I finally have time to sit down with a cup of tea and my blog! I'm also going to be finishing off my final evaluation tonight (hopefully) so look out for that.
It seems to have become a regular occurance staying in on a Friday night and doing work, and I'm not even complaining! Who would of thought it! This time two years ago you would have had to lock the doors to keep me in, and write a blog? no chance!
Changed Woman and all that :)
Happy Friday eveyone anyway!
Amy :) x
Friday, 14 May 2010
PRU - the second year.
We went back into the PRU this year for ten sessions with 3 of the same students and 10 new ones of a younger age.
Our aim was again the same, to help them get interested and involved in drama and to use the drama to address social issues they my face.
The 3 students from last year were not expected to be there but they had asked their teacher if they could come back, in fact, Friday was their day off but they wanted to come in anyway. The new students were all very quiet and did not want to get involved which is perfectly normal and expected when working with PRU students.
Around three - four weeks in, most of the new stude
nts were comfortable with us now and more willing to get involved but some had no interest at all and it was best not to force them. One of the students has been having a hard time but hopes have been kept high waiting for Fridays sessions to see me, which is quite fulfilling to know I am having an effect.
Half way through the project the sessions seemed to crash and only 3 or 4 students were turning up to each session which was very worrying. We were told it was because of problems back at the unit and told not to worry about it. We did well as a team though to keep moral high and everyone did start coming back to the sessions and we got full attendence.
Coming towards the end of the project it was amazing how engaged every single student was and how much they all liked to come. We had by this point built a very strong relationship with them all and it was outstanding to see the effort and commitment they had all put in
The last session was quite emotional as all the students got their certificates and told us how much they had liked and would miss us etc.
I always get the best feeling when I have been working in a PRU, a feeling of fulfilment and I am happy to know that I have helped people and I hope I get many more chances too.
I am so grateful and glad that we had to do WBL because it made me realise that there is really nothing else I would like to do more than this kind of work. I honestly did not know what I wanted to do before this assignmnet and now there is no doubt in my mind at all.
Love to you all, Amy Shepherd x :)
Our aim was again the same, to help them get interested and involved in drama and to use the drama to address social issues they my face.
The 3 students from last year were not expected to be there but they had asked their teacher if they could come back, in fact, Friday was their day off but they wanted to come in anyway. The new students were all very quiet and did not want to get involved which is perfectly normal and expected when working with PRU students.
Around three - four weeks in, most of the new stude
nts were comfortable with us now and more willing to get involved but some had no interest at all and it was best not to force them. One of the students has been having a hard time but hopes have been kept high waiting for Fridays sessions to see me, which is quite fulfilling to know I am having an effect.Half way through the project the sessions seemed to crash and only 3 or 4 students were turning up to each session which was very worrying. We were told it was because of problems back at the unit and told not to worry about it. We did well as a team though to keep moral high and everyone did start coming back to the sessions and we got full attendence.
Coming towards the end of the project it was amazing how engaged every single student was and how much they all liked to come. We had by this point built a very strong relationship with them all and it was outstanding to see the effort and commitment they had all put in
The last session was quite emotional as all the students got their certificates and told us how much they had liked and would miss us etc.
I always get the best feeling when I have been working in a PRU, a feeling of fulfilment and I am happy to know that I have helped people and I hope I get many more chances too.
I am so grateful and glad that we had to do WBL because it made me realise that there is really nothing else I would like to do more than this kind of work. I honestly did not know what I wanted to do before this assignmnet and now there is no doubt in my mind at all.
Love to you all, Amy Shepherd x :)
New posts
I originally had a seperate blog for each placement I have done. You can still see the original blogs at-
http://wbl-healthylifestylesproject.blogspot.com/
http://wblthoughts.blogspot.com/
But for ease I have just transferred them onto this blog for you all too, so feel free to comment. Thanks guys.
Amy x x
http://wbl-healthylifestylesproject.blogspot.com/
http://wblthoughts.blogspot.com/
But for ease I have just transferred them onto this blog for you all too, so feel free to comment. Thanks guys.
Amy x x
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
I did......
I did NOT go through with the life modelling last night!
As it got closer and closer to when I needed to leave, I found myself getting very very nervous! I thought that was because I had no confidence and wasn't very brave, but when I thought about more, I was brave for even considering life modelling.
There is probably a lot of people that would never want to life model, I'm not one of those people.
I did want to, but I just couldn't go through with it because I believe some things should be kept private!
I will keep looking for something to do that will improve my confidence, but for now, I definitely will not be life modelling!
As it got closer and closer to when I needed to leave, I found myself getting very very nervous! I thought that was because I had no confidence and wasn't very brave, but when I thought about more, I was brave for even considering life modelling.
There is probably a lot of people that would never want to life model, I'm not one of those people.
I did want to, but I just couldn't go through with it because I believe some things should be kept private!
I will keep looking for something to do that will improve my confidence, but for now, I definitely will not be life modelling!
Monday, 12 October 2009
New experience.
Tonight, I, for the first time will be the model in a life modelling class!
This is something I never, ever saw myself doing, I would normally never even consider it. In the spirit of work based learning and gaining new skills though, tonight I am going to try it.
I chose to try life modelling out of everything because it was easy to get a contact and the main reason to gain more confidence.
The way I see it is if I can stand up in front of a group of people, nude, tonight, then I am a lot braver than I thought I was.
So fingers crossed that I actually go through with it tonight, I'm hoping nerves wont take over when I get there!
:)
This is something I never, ever saw myself doing, I would normally never even consider it. In the spirit of work based learning and gaining new skills though, tonight I am going to try it.
I chose to try life modelling out of everything because it was easy to get a contact and the main reason to gain more confidence.
The way I see it is if I can stand up in front of a group of people, nude, tonight, then I am a lot braver than I thought I was.
So fingers crossed that I actually go through with it tonight, I'm hoping nerves wont take over when I get there!
:)
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Back to college.
I was happy today to go back to college and learn we would have more oppurtunities to work with the community. Thanks to work based learning, I now have a more positive attitude towards my course. At the beginning of the course i wasn't sure if it was for me as I didn't know if I was really interested in any part of it. However, because work based learning has introduced me to community work, I am now happy in my course as it too deals with communtiy work.
We had dealt with community theatre before at college as one of our modules.We were taught about it and practised it but we never applied what we learnt by actually going into the community. I think thats why I decided to do my work based lerning in this area.
My career plans are now community theatre based thanks to my work based learning. I have found something that i not only enjoy but I am good at and feel I can pursue it as a career.
To conclude, at the moment, I am happy where my work based learning has led me, although I will still try new things.
I am feeling very positive :)
We had dealt with community theatre before at college as one of our modules.We were taught about it and practised it but we never applied what we learnt by actually going into the community. I think thats why I decided to do my work based lerning in this area.
My career plans are now community theatre based thanks to my work based learning. I have found something that i not only enjoy but I am good at and feel I can pursue it as a career.
To conclude, at the moment, I am happy where my work based learning has led me, although I will still try new things.
I am feeling very positive :)
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Latest thoughts.
I have decided that I want to keep my options relatively open when it comes to work based learning. It helped me to discover my passion for community theatre, so I want to be flexible and maybe work based learning will open my eyes to new things that I enjoy.
The main reason I want to try new things is because I believe the more skills I have the better.
If I have a range of skills, talents, knowledge and ambitions I will be more desirable to a potential employer.
At the moment, community theatre is the path I want to follow and this will most likely not change but there is no harm in trying new things.
The main reason I want to try new things is because I believe the more skills I have the better.
If I have a range of skills, talents, knowledge and ambitions I will be more desirable to a potential employer.
At the moment, community theatre is the path I want to follow and this will most likely not change but there is no harm in trying new things.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Healthy Lifestyles - the brief.
The Healthy Lifestyle project is targeted at pupils in year five. Peers in their 20's use drama to teach the children how to be healthy.
The briefs of the project are:
Reduce the amount of TV viewing.
Reduce the drinking of fizzy drinks.
Reduce the amout of unhealthy snacks.
The project lasts for 5 days and I have been asked to do the project to 3 different classes, acting as the 10 year old character, Active Amy.
The briefs of the project are:
Reduce the amount of TV viewing.
Reduce the drinking of fizzy drinks.
Reduce the amout of unhealthy snacks.
The project lasts for 5 days and I have been asked to do the project to 3 different classes, acting as the 10 year old character, Active Amy.
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
Parents evenings.
These were fairly easy and straight forward for myself. They were just a chance for the parents to see what we had been teaching the children and for them to ask any questions they had.
Although there were parents that didn't turn up, there was still a good turn out for the parents evenings. The parents seemed to be ok with everything and some of them even got involved in the activities.
We used forum theatre to show the parents what we had been doing, and this was a great way to get everyone to join in.
My personal feelings towards the parents evenings are positive, they weren't too demanding or strenuous although I did feel nervous. I guess this was because we really needed the parents on board for this project so this was kind of our night to get their approval.
I am glad I can now say I have experienced parents evenings, this adding to my knowledge of what can be involved in community theatre. I feel this project is giving me the chance to gain many skills and attract employers.
Although there were parents that didn't turn up, there was still a good turn out for the parents evenings. The parents seemed to be ok with everything and some of them even got involved in the activities.
We used forum theatre to show the parents what we had been doing, and this was a great way to get everyone to join in.
My personal feelings towards the parents evenings are positive, they weren't too demanding or strenuous although I did feel nervous. I guess this was because we really needed the parents on board for this project so this was kind of our night to get their approval.
I am glad I can now say I have experienced parents evenings, this adding to my knowledge of what can be involved in community theatre. I feel this project is giving me the chance to gain many skills and attract employers.
Week 2 & 3.
Week 2 & 3 St Leonards Primary School, Exeter.
Facilitator- Dan
Active Amy - Amy (me)
Snacky Sam - Laura
Disorganised Duncan- Sam
Football Mad Fiona - Vicky
We had one class in week 2 and another class in week 3.
Facilitator- Dan
Active Amy - Amy (me)
Snacky Sam - Laura
Disorganised Duncan- Sam
Football Mad Fiona - Vicky
We had one class in week 2 and another class in week 3.
Monday, 5 October 2009
Week one.
St Thomas Primary School, Exeter.
Facilitator- Victoria Osman
Active Amy- Amy (me)
Snacky Sam- Laura
Disorganised Duncan- Dan
Football Mad Freddy- John
I feel that this week went very well, for many reasons. The children responded very well to the messages we were putting across and the teacher was very supportive. The children and the teacher got involved in everything and behaved well.
My character Active Amy seemed to be very popular as most children came into my group and felt they related most to my character, which is good to know that most of them were active, that makes our job a lot easier!
Some things didn't go to well and didn't work very well. This was not the facilitator or the teams fault as we had never tried it before. The project is still a working progress so things need to go wrong or not work well for people to know they need improving.
I have a lot of constructive feedback to give to the relevant people of what I think needs improving. Before the next project, I want to talk to the team and tell them what I think we could do differently and how.
From how tiring this week has been, I have been tempted to say that working with children is not for me. However I realised that many jobs are tiring but not a lot are as rewarding and enjoyable as this one.
Facilitator- Victoria Osman
Active Amy- Amy (me)
Snacky Sam- Laura
Disorganised Duncan- Dan
Football Mad Freddy- John
I feel that this week went very well, for many reasons. The children responded very well to the messages we were putting across and the teacher was very supportive. The children and the teacher got involved in everything and behaved well.
My character Active Amy seemed to be very popular as most children came into my group and felt they related most to my character, which is good to know that most of them were active, that makes our job a lot easier!
Some things didn't go to well and didn't work very well. This was not the facilitator or the teams fault as we had never tried it before. The project is still a working progress so things need to go wrong or not work well for people to know they need improving.
I have a lot of constructive feedback to give to the relevant people of what I think needs improving. Before the next project, I want to talk to the team and tell them what I think we could do differently and how.
From how tiring this week has been, I have been tempted to say that working with children is not for me. However I realised that many jobs are tiring but not a lot are as rewarding and enjoyable as this one.
Healthy Lifestyles rehearsals.
My objectives for the rehearsal process.
To familiarise myself with the script.
To understand the brief.
To be aware of the messages we are trying to put across.
To develop my character.
To develop a working relationship with my team.
To learn how to work with each other.
I felt positive about the project as a whole after the rehearsals. Both sessions went well and i felt ready to go into the schools. I think I developed the character and made it my own, while still sticking to the main points, and I believe this character and my performance as said character was strong.
I met the objectives I had set myself and I am now ready for the next stage of my work based learning.
To familiarise myself with the script.
To understand the brief.
To be aware of the messages we are trying to put across.
To develop my character.
To develop a working relationship with my team.
To learn how to work with each other.
I felt positive about the project as a whole after the rehearsals. Both sessions went well and i felt ready to go into the schools. I think I developed the character and made it my own, while still sticking to the main points, and I believe this character and my performance as said character was strong.
I met the objectives I had set myself and I am now ready for the next stage of my work based learning.
Healthy Lifesyles aims and objectives.
My Personal Aim and Objectives.
Aim-
To further my knowledge and skills in a professional environment which will benefit my career and advance my flexibility of working with different client groups.
Objectives-
To create a working relationship with my colleagues by working as a team, respecting and supporting each other.
Gain the children's trust and respect so that they will listen and pay attention to what I say.
Use encouragement as a key tool throughout.
Improve knowledge of community theatre and working in a professional environment.
To make a difference, whether it be to the children or to the project.
Aim-
To further my knowledge and skills in a professional environment which will benefit my career and advance my flexibility of working with different client groups.
Objectives-
To create a working relationship with my colleagues by working as a team, respecting and supporting each other.
Gain the children's trust and respect so that they will listen and pay attention to what I say.
Use encouragement as a key tool throughout.
Improve knowledge of community theatre and working in a professional environment.
To make a difference, whether it be to the children or to the project.
Monday, 5 October 2009
WBL - PRU- end of the project.
In the last lesson of the project, I got a real sense of fulfilment as we handed the students their certificates. It seems as though we have all come so far in just ten weeks and achieved so much. Now that I know I won't be going to the lessons with the students anymore, however, I wish I'd of done more or I could carry on helping the students.
Drama is a great skill and talent that can keep bored teenagers from finding themselves in trouble more often than they should. The teenagers I met at the PRU had all been in trouble for one reason or another and had never even tried drama before. They laughed when we told them we were going to be working on Drama with them! Now, however, most of them are so keen to try new scenes and techniques of acting that it seems like we have found a good thing with the students.
Now the project has finished, I cant help thinking that their enthusiasm for Drama will slowly wither away.
If anything, feeling this way has given myself more enthusiasm. I feel I have made a difference, even if its the tiniest of difference, and that feeling is amazing. I want to continue feeling this way and now I know how to in the future!
Drama is a great skill and talent that can keep bored teenagers from finding themselves in trouble more often than they should. The teenagers I met at the PRU had all been in trouble for one reason or another and had never even tried drama before. They laughed when we told them we were going to be working on Drama with them! Now, however, most of them are so keen to try new scenes and techniques of acting that it seems like we have found a good thing with the students.
Now the project has finished, I cant help thinking that their enthusiasm for Drama will slowly wither away.
If anything, feeling this way has given myself more enthusiasm. I feel I have made a difference, even if its the tiniest of difference, and that feeling is amazing. I want to continue feeling this way and now I know how to in the future!
Thursday, 1 October 2009
WBL- PRU.
Introduction.
I went into a community centre each friday to meet People referal unit students.
Myself, Shelley Mccormack, Hannah Nutbeem and Chrissy worked with a practitioner on this called Dan Pryce.
There were around sixteen students around the age of fourteen and three of their teachers and we worked with them for ten weeks.
Aim.
Our aim for working with the students was to try and get them interested in drama without forcing them. We also wanted to use the drama to address issues that the students may face.
Games.
We started each lesson with a game to get to know them, warm them up and get them more willing to join in with the rest of the lesson. At the start of the ten weeks we used games like 'Anyone who' so we could get to know them better, and they could get to know us. We also used this because if they felt like they didn't want to join in they weren't forced to, but we did encourage them. Towards the end of the ten weeks we used games like 'tin can pulse' as they were now more comfortable with the environment and with us that they didn't mind closing their eyes and holding hands. They frequently asked us if we could play this game.
Drama.
At the start of the ten weeks, we weren't expecting students who had never done drama before to be willing to do it straight away. So at first we showed them a short piece of issue based drama to see how they reacted. We asked them to give us feedback about the piece to get them involved. The following week, we showed them the piece again and this time got them to give us their input on what they think worked and what didn't. They were all keen to say what we should of done differently, so we asked them to show us what they meant. This way, acting was optional to them and they were more likely to show us, when they were confident enough to tell us their idea in the first place.
By the next week they were comfortable enough to work in small groups with us changing the scenes of the piece we showed them. They were all keen to put their ides in the piece of what they wanted to happen and each student became a character. Some were happy to be main charcaters and some took smaller parts.
Towards the end of the Ten weeks, they felt comfortable enough for us to film the scenes they had made and were acting in.
The issues.
Issues we addressed through drama-
· Pressure from girl/boy friend.
· Pressure from peers.
· Alcohol.
· Drugs.
· Underage drinking, driving, drugs and sex.
· Trouble with the police.
· Fighting.
What i learnt.
Games and exercises are the perfect way to get students to feel more comfortable.
Pru students sometimes use jokes and insulting other students when they feel uncomfortable.
The students seemed to rebel against being told to do something, but responded positivley to encouragment.
The fact that we weren't much older than the students made it easier for them to feel comfortable.
To keep their attention, it's best to be constantly changing what they are doing, giving them new exercises to do and constantly keep them thinking.
Working in the PRU suited me cmpletely. I really enjoyed it and looked forward to each Friday. I worked well with the students and they respected and got on well with me.
This work placement made me realise that I am very interested in community theatre and would like to pursue it further.
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