Even more so now than ever before we have to take care of our students' well-being. We are all suffering from lock-down blues and especially our teens who are just reaching that phase where they need to break free from the chains that bind them and enjoy peer protection, peer conflict and peer pressure.
Instead they are being cooped up in their small flats, houses or cramped slums/tents with their parents and siblings 24/7, 7/30, 30/52 and they are tired of video conference lessons if indeed they even have the facilities to join. They are sick of having to meet through a screen and long for the variety of their old lives where they could connect F2F, hold hands, hug and laugh together. It's only when we can't have it that we realise we need it and want it badly!!!!
In Drama, we intrinsically deal with Emotional Development: E for Emotions!
We build emotional activities into the Drama ...we have the students beginning to understand their own emotions, how to deal with them and how to control them and then they can start to understand other people's emotions. We subtly have them learning to be confident, to grow empathy and to understand other perspectives, other habits and other behaviours. We open up to the human condition by playing games, laughing, crying and feeling. We never try to hide our emotions ....we revel in them.
This is why Drama works!!!!