Confidence is one of the most important traits we can possess, but where can young students learn and develop their self-confidence? Sara, BCIS’s very own drama teacher in the Secondary School, has the answer to this important educational question:
“When I first started at BCIS, I had a student in Grade 9. When she joined my class, her English was very limited, and that made her have very low self-esteem and self-confidence in school in general, because she really struggled to communicate with people. So, I tried to include her in everything, and give her that push outside of her comfort zone to try speaking English. It’s so important that we have a safe environment to do that. This student in particular really came out of her shell and became more confident speaking English. She even performed at the Shorts Festival, which was a really big deal for her. At the beginning of the year, she really didn’t want to speak in front of the class at all, and then, when she performed in front of everybody, her teachers and everyone were so shocked at how confident she could be on stage, and how well she could communicate.”
Our marvelous performing arts teachers explain how learning takes place in their classesSuccess stories like this one are common at BCIS. For many of our students, performing arts is an excellent way to sharpen their talents and gain self-confidence. This confidence is just one of the many benefits classes like drama and music provide our students. The wonderful teachers at BCIS bring diverse and unique approaches that give students a special opportunity to act out their dreams. This experience gives students skills that they can transfer to the rest of their learning, as well as their lives outside school.
At BCIS, students begin to explore performance early in their educational journeys. At the ECC, young learners begin to practice their artistic expression through play-based learning. What feels like play to students: sock-puppet acting, musical instruments, and more, are actually activities to improve critical communication skills for the children. This play-based approach gives young students a solid foundation of confident communication to take with them as they continue learning.
As students move to the ES, they have even more opportunities to explore different performance arts. Subjects such as music are interlinked with our inquiry-based approach, which emphasizes student choice and voice. Our ES Music Teacher, Grant, explains how he incorporates such inquiry, stating, “One of the ways we do this is a mixture of direct instruction, and students inquiring with both instruments we have in the classrooms, and singing techniques and performance techniques as well.” These many fantastic opportunities allow students to take charge of their own learning, choosing instruments and sounds to express themselves and their interests. In this way, students continue to learn, while finding their favorite ways to perform and share their experience with others.
The diversity of learning opportunities continues to grow when learners reach the Secondary School. When students enter the middle school in Grade 6, they take classes in three different types of arts: music, visual art, and drama. However, as the students discover their talents and interests, they can choose two of the three to pursue at a deeper level. Once students reach Grade 9, they can pick their favorite form of art to study for an entire year, at an advanced level. Choosing to focus on a single area of study in the arts does not limit students at BCIS as they have numerous opportunities to continue exploring creativity and refining their expressive skills through Enrichment Activities. This fantastic approach lets students find their favorite form of artistic expression, without limiting their autonomy of choice in the direction of their learning.
The depth of study BCIS students undertake in their art program of choice allows them to create and direct some truly amazing performances. For example, the drama students in our Secondary School recently debuted their productions at our annual “Shorts Festival”. For the Shorts Festival, students were tasked with coming up with a brief 10-minute play, where they managed all the writing, production, and design. Although this challenged our drama students on many levels of the playwriting process, their hard work was appreciated by the many BCISers who showed up to see their lovely shorts!
Activities such as the Shorts Festival give our students the chance to lead activities that impact the community. They also give students valuable skills that they can take with them throughout their lives. Our SS Drama Teacher, Sara, explains how confidence is one of the most important traits students learn in drama, saying, “I think the most important benefit is just building of their self-confidence. We get a lot of students who are shy. We really try to nurture them and build up their confidence through all of our class activities and projects they do.” This confidence was evident on the stage during the Shorts Festival and shows up as students take other classes and participate in other activities as well.
Sara and the drama teachers also work on valuable communication skills. Acting requires students to have a good command of speech, while also using nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions to convey their feelings and stories to the audience. Such techniques are important off the stage and help students long after the final curtain calls of their high school plays. BCIS art students have the confidence and the tools to work with others in a variety of contexts.
Drama is not the only subject that helps our students develop their talents and skills. Students who choose music gain similar boosts in self-confidence and communication through their concerts and performances. Teamwork as a whole band is also important in music. “One of the biggest areas is the idea of collaboration. Everyone has to collaborate in music, and that’s a life skill that students will need both at university and in the workplace,” says our SS Music Teacher, Dominic. No matter what form of art BCIS students choose to pursue, they will be set up to succeed with the vital skills they gain through performance.
Confidence, communication, collaboration. These are three invaluable traits that students of the performing arts at BCIS will take with them regardless of what they decide to pursue in life. The lessons learners experience in classes like music and drama stick with students and inspire them in their daily lives. As our Middle School Music Teacher, Randy, says, “These lessons and collaborations often instigate passions for students that lead them to become lifelong learners.” This is one of the many ways BCIS sets the stage for student success, in school and in life!
演出开始之前，灯光全暗，乐成戏剧节的小演员们走上舞台面对观众，站定。接着音乐响起，舞台上的小演员们专心自信的样子突然有了一种超越专业的力量——不是好看，而是动人。你绝不会想到，台上闪闪发光的小演员们，也有着从害羞到自信的转变，而这背后的故事要从乐成戏剧教育说起......
乐成戏剧艺术老师们分享精彩舞台背后的艺术教育
“他在最自然的方式下变得自信了”
每年的乐成的戏剧表演总是最受关注的活动之一，参加戏剧演出的学生们从陌生到熟悉，从青涩到勇敢，在一次次学习、自我怀疑、重建自信、勇于挑战到排练，演出落幕的时候，这些小演员们激动溢于言表：我好喜欢戏剧表演。
“有一个9年级的学生，当他刚开始加入到我的班级时，他说英语的时候会很害羞或表达自己的想法。我试着让他参与所有的活动，鼓励他走出自己的舒适区多练习英语。身边的同学们也都十分支持，绝不会因为语言的挑战而嘲笑对方。对学生来说，在一个安全并且友好的环境学习是非常重要的。因为戏剧是取材于生活的片刻，在无压力的表演过程中，才能以最自然的方式变得更自信。” 中学的戏剧老师Sara告诉我们学生是可以通过戏剧学习来收获自信，“这个学生也在今年的Shorts戏剧节呈现了精彩的演出，我们真的为他感到自豪！”
这样的故事在乐成很常见，让孩子从戏中扮演来学习知识，远比理论知识有趣的多，也更能被孩子接受。这一经历也为学生们提供了公共演讲和沟通的技能，他们可以把这些技能应用到以后的学习中，以及他们未来的学习和生活中。戏剧教育，并非是“美而无用”或者只为未来表演或艺术方向的学生准备的课程。戏剧教育是一个孩子融入集体的机会，在创意、沟通、排练、克服困难、团队合作到最终呈现结果的过程中，学生们收获的尝试新事物的勇气和信心才是戏剧教育的核心。
“激发学生成为终身学习者的教育”
在戏剧方式的教育过程中，不同年龄段的学生可以自由的发挥、创作。也因为这些创作出自本身，他们自然而然会勇于表达自己的意见，在这样的环境中成长而能更了解自己、肯定自己，对自己有自信。
在幼儿园，在每个教室里面都会有戏剧表演区，定期的戏剧角色扮演、袜子木偶表演和乐器演奏等等都是提高小朋友们关键沟通技巧的活动，这种以游戏为基础的方法为学生在继续学习的过程中提供了自信沟通的坚实基础。在一年一度的小学Shorts戏剧节上，学生们在老师的指导下设计一个简短的10分钟的剧本并在礼堂演出，虽然在剧本创作过程中遇到了很多挑战，但很多学生表示看到许多前来观看自己作品的观众，还是为自己的努力感到自豪。进入中学后，六年级开始学生就需要选择三种不同类型的艺术课: 音乐、视觉艺术和戏剧。在高中戏剧Urinetown上，学生在戏剧的表演中建立了在各种不同的环境与各类人交流的信心。
正如我们的中学音乐老师Randy所说: “戏剧表演课程是能够激发学生成为终身学习者的课程。” 戏剧表演只是乐成为学生提供的众多舞台之一，无论乐成学生选择何种形式的艺术，我们都希望他们能够学习获得重要的技能，为未来做准备。
Beijing City International School
北京乐成国际学校
T +8610 8771 7171
W www.bcis.cn
No. 77 Baiziwan Nan Er Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100022, PR China
北京市朝阳区百子湾南二路77号,100022
An IB World School Accredited by CIS & WASC