for your edification and amusement we
now present education exploration or
what kids need in three acts with
prologue and epilogue prologue in which
the hero confronts an old nemesis and
recalls a whimsical group of fifth
graders I have been teaching in public
schools since 1990 the last most of that
time has been spent in Portland Public
Schools where I am known to HR as zero
zero seven three nine two at school I am
called Kevin mr. Kevin teacher Kevin
I’ve been in title and grade schools for
the past 22 years so a couple of years
ago I was in my classroom after school
when the door opened and I looked up and
saw a man who I immediately recognized
as a former student and I froze in that
moment my mind traveled back ten years
to recall a fifth grade boy who who was
difficult combative and angry I couldn’t
see any happiness in his future
whatsoever and there he wasn’t my
doorway
five inches taller with broad shoulders
and I had a feeling that I was going to
get an unexpected update on how that
future was playing out and I just hope
that it wasn’t gonna hurt too much
because you see he’d been in a class of
fifth graders that was memorable for its
whimsical exploration of chaos violence
and police visitation in the line of
duty one week into the school year I
knew that it was going to be a long year
and that drastic action would be called
for but what would that action be based
on as a teacher my goal is to create
rich experiences for kids and that
begins with the question what do kids
need Act one in which the hero expounds
on what kids need kids need art the arts
connect us with our humanity probably
everyone in this room has had some
strong formative arts experience in
their life and I know that’s true for me
Julie Andrews is largely responsible for
Who I am today
my parents took me to see this movie
when I was a wee lad and that’s when I
fell in love with musical theater I
probably went to school the next day and
raised my hand and said something like
my mommy and daddy took me to see him
you about Nazis and I loved it children
need to learn from more than one source
of information for instance when my wife
tells me it’s time to take out the
garbage I just don’t get it until I hear
that from a second source of information
actually that’s not a good example at
all let’s try this one here’s a dot of
light one dot not too remarkable until
you add a second dot and now we see that
two dots make a line the brain is
hardwired to connect dots with a solid
line even when there is no light line
actually there this is why traffic
lights come in pairs we see the red
light but we’re actually attending to
the horse of the implied horizontal line
connecting the lights of course if we’re
sending email then we don’t see any
traffic lights at all it used to be that
people ran red lights now we can’t even
get him to go through green lights when
the kid learned something in school the
information goes right here the if you
present that information from a
different source it goes right here two
dots form a line to create strong
learning in the kid’s brain kids need
risk now school is all about safety and
you can’t argue with that except that I
do argue with that a little bit risk is
where you try yourself out to see what
you’re made of in life we don’t need
risk but it’s a lot easier to grow a
rhythm with risk risk you can’t and you
can’t have risk without dangerous kind
of girl categorically impossible well
risk is risk at nutrition to the
educational diet and makes it helps
children grow big and strong children
need their lives their souls to be lit
up I look around at school for joy and I
don’t see as much as I’d like I’m not
looking for a constant euphoria but I
asked myself where is it where is the
joy where is the excitement in school
fortunately joy is not yet a mandated
standard though it probably will be
someday and will sound like joy pupils
by the end of first grade will
demonstrate joy in the following manners
I don’t know kids need to feel connected
to something bigger than themselves it’s
rare for a class to be called upon to
commit to some big project that takes a
long time to achieve and it’s really
difficult it makes a difference in the
world the slide you’re looking at right
now is a reminder to you to ask me later
about the bonus anecdote that I have on
this topic it’s really good kids do the
voice kids need to express themselves in
unique and varied ways that support
their interests and inclinations
including like chop saws act 2 in which
the hero takes action and discovers a
grand unified theory of pedagogy so
you’re probably saying to yourself right
now
ok zero zero seven three nine two aka
teacher Kevin that’s all very nice but
what are you doing about this
well it’s curious that you that I am
supposing that maybe you’re asking me
that question because I haven’t answered
that in two thousand three my passion
for musical theater collided with my
teaching life when I discovered the
creating original opera program run by
the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
that shows teachers how to turn their
class into a theater company and produce
an original show fireworks went off in
my head
I knew I’d found my own personal grand
unified theory of pedagogy I knew in
that moment that I was going to go
through the program and that my life
would never be the same again
so that summer I went to New York for
the training and the following year my
colleague and I we turned our class into
a theater company they call themselves
the Titanic 51 kids opera company I was
dubious about the Titanic part but they
seemed to want that they called their
show a visit to grandpa’s farm where a
girl finds her power and here they are
they also performed one evening downtown
at the winning sad theater and they were
magnificent I mean did I mention that
these were second graders at a full-on
title one school that had a lot of
language English language learners
including our script prompter who came
to us speaking no English at all and by
the end of the year had memorized the
script and spoke English so let’s check
this opera experience against some of
the needs that I’ve outlined was the
risk
yes performing in front of
people is risky asking second graders to
wire a lightboard and why are tin-can
footlights think about that that’s risky
did it light up the soul yeah these
second graders loved performing during
the opera project was their commitment
well not at the beginning of the year on
the first day we said congratulations
you are now an opera company followed by
silence and lunchtime but by the end of
the year they were fully on board with
this opera project so we see that
musical theater is good for kids giving
them what they need most of the time a
few years later I was at a different
school where I crashed into that fifth
grade class from H E double hockey
sticks I was up against the ropes early
in the year and I did what I always do
when things get desperate I decided to
put on a show so I started writing a
musical about US history I didn’t know
if these jaded fifth graders would take
it or not they would probably scoff that
seemed likely but I had to find out so
one day I brought in a song I wrote
about the Salem witch trials called my
name is Betty and I sing it for them my
name is Betty I am 11 I live in Salem I
finished the song and waited they looked
at each other they looked at me they
were like dude and I was like dude and
they were like dude and I was like high
five high five high five okay no high
fives but I got a green light for the
show and as it turns out I got a lot of
red lights and traffic jams as well
because doing that show what those kids
was a bloody nightmare
they fought me at every step it was like
dragging the mule through the mud but we
persisted and the week before the show
went on a miracle happened from the
swirling mass of fifth-grade chaos a
theatre company emerged with direction
and focus and and teamwork I couldn’t
believe it
so the show went on audiences loved it
and history was learned and I thought
AHA learning history American history
through musical theater and this was
years before Hamilton now Harvey
so I continued writing academic musicals
and then I asked myself the question
well what would it be like taking these
shows on the road and sharing them with
other kids in other schools and that is
when the present chapter of my life
open began act 3 in which the hero
starts a musical theater company and
becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams
four years ago I started gesture
educational theater a non-profit musical
theater company which educates students
[Music]
educating students laughs my laugh my
goal was fourfold I why don’t you
perform original musicals
I wanted to about academic things
academic musicals I wanted to perform
with live musical accompaniment I wanted
to perform in title one schools and I
wanted to perform with older teens and
adults meaning basically professional
performers our first year we performed
Allison math land for grades K through 2
which is about Alice in math land last
year we performed the revolutionary
review being thus a musical that my 5th
graders performed so many years ago in
this season we were performing the
pumphrey family reunion are all oregan
musical that goes with the 4th grade
social studies curriculum so these days
I’m getting lots of kids a chance to see
high quality theater and the question is
does watching a show I’ll have the same
benefits as being in a show let’s check
this in a couple of ways kids get
history in their classroom then they
come to the goes right here then they
come to see the same history played out
on stage goes right here a line of
learning is formed they learn the
history a lot better check risk is there
any there’s no risk involved in watching
a musical but what we lose in risk be
gain in lighting up the soul I know from
audience responses of sustained laughter
and thoughtful discussions with classes
after performances and written student
responses that ya souls are lit up and
kids learn the brain loves to
when emotions are engaged and heightened
so it turns out that yes musical theater
is good for kids on stage or in the
audience presently I teach English as a
Second Language at Bridger a title one
school in outer East Portland and I’m
doing theater with the kids my colleague
and I run the middle school ESL program
as a drama company during first period
they will present their theatrical opus
at school and at the winning sad theater
later this year two of our company
members speak no English including a
performer so it’s a grand experiment at
the Nexus of theater arts and English
language learning and you’re all welcome
to come to Bridger or the winning sad to
see the results later on this year I am
fortunate to have a life filled with
musical theater I have a front row seat
to see the the power of the Arts on kids
in the audience at professional
performances I can see firsthand the
power of the Arts on kids in theatre
companies committed to a big cause I see
learning and I see joy both are great
when combined they are magic Epilog in
which the nemesis is unmasked balance is
restored concluding remarks boughs
curtain so there it was in my classroom
looking up at this former student
quaking in my boots a little bit but my
fears were unneeded he was all smiles he
had come to thank me for the theatre
arts experiences I had given him as a
fifth grader and now he was a
professional dancer and aspired to a
career in pediatric dentistry can you
have tricked dentistry who could have
predicted this
now I hesitate to share the dancing part
because that’s a bit of a red herring on
my end my goal is not to create artists
and theatrefolk my goal is to provide
rich arts experiences that can be the
basis for a long-lasting education of
course I was privately and personally
delighted that he is dancing teachers
rarely ever see the results of their
efforts but this one kid showed me how
just one year of theatre arts at age 10
can echo down through the years in a
person’s soul that is why
put kids on stage and that is why
gesture educational theater educates
students one laugh at a time thank you
[Applause]
now present education exploration or
what kids need in three acts with
prologue and epilogue prologue in which
the hero confronts an old nemesis and
recalls a whimsical group of fifth
graders I have been teaching in public
schools since 1990 the last most of that
time has been spent in Portland Public
Schools where I am known to HR as zero
zero seven three nine two at school I am
called Kevin mr. Kevin teacher Kevin
I’ve been in title and grade schools for
the past 22 years so a couple of years
ago I was in my classroom after school
when the door opened and I looked up and
saw a man who I immediately recognized
as a former student and I froze in that
moment my mind traveled back ten years
to recall a fifth grade boy who who was
difficult combative and angry I couldn’t
see any happiness in his future
whatsoever and there he wasn’t my
doorway
five inches taller with broad shoulders
and I had a feeling that I was going to
get an unexpected update on how that
future was playing out and I just hope
that it wasn’t gonna hurt too much
because you see he’d been in a class of
fifth graders that was memorable for its
whimsical exploration of chaos violence
and police visitation in the line of
duty one week into the school year I
knew that it was going to be a long year
and that drastic action would be called
for but what would that action be based
on as a teacher my goal is to create
rich experiences for kids and that
begins with the question what do kids
need Act one in which the hero expounds
on what kids need kids need art the arts
connect us with our humanity probably
everyone in this room has had some
strong formative arts experience in
their life and I know that’s true for me
Julie Andrews is largely responsible for
Who I am today
my parents took me to see this movie
when I was a wee lad and that’s when I
fell in love with musical theater I
probably went to school the next day and
raised my hand and said something like
my mommy and daddy took me to see him
you about Nazis and I loved it children
need to learn from more than one source
of information for instance when my wife
tells me it’s time to take out the
garbage I just don’t get it until I hear
that from a second source of information
actually that’s not a good example at
all let’s try this one here’s a dot of
light one dot not too remarkable until
you add a second dot and now we see that
two dots make a line the brain is
hardwired to connect dots with a solid
line even when there is no light line
actually there this is why traffic
lights come in pairs we see the red
light but we’re actually attending to
the horse of the implied horizontal line
connecting the lights of course if we’re
sending email then we don’t see any
traffic lights at all it used to be that
people ran red lights now we can’t even
get him to go through green lights when
the kid learned something in school the
information goes right here the if you
present that information from a
different source it goes right here two
dots form a line to create strong
learning in the kid’s brain kids need
risk now school is all about safety and
you can’t argue with that except that I
do argue with that a little bit risk is
where you try yourself out to see what
you’re made of in life we don’t need
risk but it’s a lot easier to grow a
rhythm with risk risk you can’t and you
can’t have risk without dangerous kind
of girl categorically impossible well
risk is risk at nutrition to the
educational diet and makes it helps
children grow big and strong children
need their lives their souls to be lit
up I look around at school for joy and I
don’t see as much as I’d like I’m not
looking for a constant euphoria but I
asked myself where is it where is the
joy where is the excitement in school
fortunately joy is not yet a mandated
standard though it probably will be
someday and will sound like joy pupils
by the end of first grade will
demonstrate joy in the following manners
I don’t know kids need to feel connected
to something bigger than themselves it’s
rare for a class to be called upon to
commit to some big project that takes a
long time to achieve and it’s really
difficult it makes a difference in the
world the slide you’re looking at right
now is a reminder to you to ask me later
about the bonus anecdote that I have on
this topic it’s really good kids do the
voice kids need to express themselves in
unique and varied ways that support
their interests and inclinations
including like chop saws act 2 in which
the hero takes action and discovers a
grand unified theory of pedagogy so
you’re probably saying to yourself right
now
ok zero zero seven three nine two aka
teacher Kevin that’s all very nice but
what are you doing about this
well it’s curious that you that I am
supposing that maybe you’re asking me
that question because I haven’t answered
that in two thousand three my passion
for musical theater collided with my
teaching life when I discovered the
creating original opera program run by
the Metropolitan Opera in New York City
that shows teachers how to turn their
class into a theater company and produce
an original show fireworks went off in
my head
I knew I’d found my own personal grand
unified theory of pedagogy I knew in
that moment that I was going to go
through the program and that my life
would never be the same again
so that summer I went to New York for
the training and the following year my
colleague and I we turned our class into
a theater company they call themselves
the Titanic 51 kids opera company I was
dubious about the Titanic part but they
seemed to want that they called their
show a visit to grandpa’s farm where a
girl finds her power and here they are
they also performed one evening downtown
at the winning sad theater and they were
magnificent I mean did I mention that
these were second graders at a full-on
title one school that had a lot of
language English language learners
including our script prompter who came
to us speaking no English at all and by
the end of the year had memorized the
script and spoke English so let’s check
this opera experience against some of
the needs that I’ve outlined was the
risk
yes performing in front of
people is risky asking second graders to
wire a lightboard and why are tin-can
footlights think about that that’s risky
did it light up the soul yeah these
second graders loved performing during
the opera project was their commitment
well not at the beginning of the year on
the first day we said congratulations
you are now an opera company followed by
silence and lunchtime but by the end of
the year they were fully on board with
this opera project so we see that
musical theater is good for kids giving
them what they need most of the time a
few years later I was at a different
school where I crashed into that fifth
grade class from H E double hockey
sticks I was up against the ropes early
in the year and I did what I always do
when things get desperate I decided to
put on a show so I started writing a
musical about US history I didn’t know
if these jaded fifth graders would take
it or not they would probably scoff that
seemed likely but I had to find out so
one day I brought in a song I wrote
about the Salem witch trials called my
name is Betty and I sing it for them my
name is Betty I am 11 I live in Salem I
finished the song and waited they looked
at each other they looked at me they
were like dude and I was like dude and
they were like dude and I was like high
five high five high five okay no high
fives but I got a green light for the
show and as it turns out I got a lot of
red lights and traffic jams as well
because doing that show what those kids
was a bloody nightmare
they fought me at every step it was like
dragging the mule through the mud but we
persisted and the week before the show
went on a miracle happened from the
swirling mass of fifth-grade chaos a
theatre company emerged with direction
and focus and and teamwork I couldn’t
believe it
so the show went on audiences loved it
and history was learned and I thought
AHA learning history American history
through musical theater and this was
years before Hamilton now Harvey
so I continued writing academic musicals
and then I asked myself the question
well what would it be like taking these
shows on the road and sharing them with
other kids in other schools and that is
when the present chapter of my life
open began act 3 in which the hero
starts a musical theater company and
becomes rich beyond his wildest dreams
four years ago I started gesture
educational theater a non-profit musical
theater company which educates students
[Music]
educating students laughs my laugh my
goal was fourfold I why don’t you
perform original musicals
I wanted to about academic things
academic musicals I wanted to perform
with live musical accompaniment I wanted
to perform in title one schools and I
wanted to perform with older teens and
adults meaning basically professional
performers our first year we performed
Allison math land for grades K through 2
which is about Alice in math land last
year we performed the revolutionary
review being thus a musical that my 5th
graders performed so many years ago in
this season we were performing the
pumphrey family reunion are all oregan
musical that goes with the 4th grade
social studies curriculum so these days
I’m getting lots of kids a chance to see
high quality theater and the question is
does watching a show I’ll have the same
benefits as being in a show let’s check
this in a couple of ways kids get
history in their classroom then they
come to the goes right here then they
come to see the same history played out
on stage goes right here a line of
learning is formed they learn the
history a lot better check risk is there
any there’s no risk involved in watching
a musical but what we lose in risk be
gain in lighting up the soul I know from
audience responses of sustained laughter
and thoughtful discussions with classes
after performances and written student
responses that ya souls are lit up and
kids learn the brain loves to
when emotions are engaged and heightened
so it turns out that yes musical theater
is good for kids on stage or in the
audience presently I teach English as a
Second Language at Bridger a title one
school in outer East Portland and I’m
doing theater with the kids my colleague
and I run the middle school ESL program
as a drama company during first period
they will present their theatrical opus
at school and at the winning sad theater
later this year two of our company
members speak no English including a
performer so it’s a grand experiment at
the Nexus of theater arts and English
language learning and you’re all welcome
to come to Bridger or the winning sad to
see the results later on this year I am
fortunate to have a life filled with
musical theater I have a front row seat
to see the the power of the Arts on kids
in the audience at professional
performances I can see firsthand the
power of the Arts on kids in theatre
companies committed to a big cause I see
learning and I see joy both are great
when combined they are magic Epilog in
which the nemesis is unmasked balance is
restored concluding remarks boughs
curtain so there it was in my classroom
looking up at this former student
quaking in my boots a little bit but my
fears were unneeded he was all smiles he
had come to thank me for the theatre
arts experiences I had given him as a
fifth grader and now he was a
professional dancer and aspired to a
career in pediatric dentistry can you
have tricked dentistry who could have
predicted this
now I hesitate to share the dancing part
because that’s a bit of a red herring on
my end my goal is not to create artists
and theatrefolk my goal is to provide
rich arts experiences that can be the
basis for a long-lasting education of
course I was privately and personally
delighted that he is dancing teachers
rarely ever see the results of their
efforts but this one kid showed me how
just one year of theatre arts at age 10
can echo down through the years in a
person’s soul that is why
put kids on stage and that is why
gesture educational theater educates
students one laugh at a time thank you
[Applause]
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