One of my favorite extra-curricular activities that my students can be involved in is something called Drama Night. The students are completely in charge of everything involved in Drama Night. They write and direct plays (or musicals!) and also act in them. Other students are in charge of organizing the production, distributing tickets, and making sure the lights and subtitles and background scenes are in order. The subtitles are screens to either side of the stage that show what the students are saying in English, and it also includes the Chinese translation of what they are saying.
My first year teaching in this department of my university was a couple of years ago, and I had never been to a drama night. So when a couple of my students asked me to help them with their script, I was excited to help.
We met, and I read through the script while we were in the coffee shop, and I tried to give comments as I read. I was a bit confused about many things about the script, but the students explained things, and I began to understand. I encouraged them to make some changes so that those things would be clearer to an audience as well. After that meeting, the students didn’t contact me again, and I assumed that they had adjusted their script. The story was very creative with a magician. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most details of the story.
I was excited to see what the students came up with on that first drama night, and we enjoyed all of the plays that night. There were one or two musicals, a historical drama, and the students that I had helped with their musician and clown and motley group of characters. Unfortunately, even though I had read the script several months ago, and the students had explained things to me, I still had trouble following the story. The teacher who gave comments about all of the students’ performances also commented that he had seen that performance three times and still wasn’t quite sure what it was about.
The students worked so hard, and I still loved all of the dramas, but I also realized that writing a script was going to take more work than just a one-time meeting.
So last semester, two more of my students came up to me and said that they were writing a script for drama night, and they wondered if I could help them with the editing. I agreed, but I had some conditions. First, I wanted to read the script ahead of time, so I could prepare my comments rather than just having to suggest things on the fly.
I really enjoyed the script, but again, I was pretty confused about some things. But the biggest problem I noticed about the script is that it didn’t seem to solve the problem that the students were addressing. The beginning of the script was talking about how students were using AI to do their homework, and the teacher was frustrated. I could definitely identify with that problem! When I talked with my students, I realized they were also struggling with this issue because they were wondering what the point of studying was when AI seemed to be able to do things better. We talked about that a bit, and I gave the students some of my thoughts about the issue.
But I also told the students that they were going to have to reach a decision for themselves because they wouldn’t be able to write a meaningful script about this issue if they didn’t have it solved for themselves. The students assured me that they would think about it, and I told them I wanted to see their next draft.
Several months later, the students came back to me with another draft. I could tell that the students had put a lot of thought into the issues, and their conclusion was much clearer. The purpose of learning English and teaching English was to touch lives and to develop meaning. The songs that the students wrote helped to communicate these ideas clearly, and I was getting really excited about the script. We went through a couple more drafts and edits, and as Drama Night started to get closer, I was really looking forward to seeing the drama come to life.
My students invited me to watch one of the rehearsals, so I did. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any microphones, but they gave me an updated script, and I could hear well enough to follow the main ideas. I was also excited to notice that several of my students were part of the cast and a student that I knew well was playing the lead actress.
I gave some last-minute pronunciation tips and told the students about how excited I was for the final performance!
Unfortunately, a couple days before the performance, a typhoon hit. Classes were cancelled throughout the province or moved online. Extra events were postponed, so Drama Night moved to Sunday evening.
Sunday evening finally arrived, and I met my student outside of the auditorium to get the tickets. Since I’m a teacher, we got to sit in the good seats near the front, and I had a great view of the stage.
There were four plays total, and each of them showed someone from the history of our school and what they had done to help the school and the English program. One play talked about the challenges of translation and whether to translate something word for word or more to communicate the meaning. To illustrate the struggle, the play had students playing the part of the words, giving the words personality and depth. The students acting as words also performed a rap.
Another play had lots of drama as the characters battled their fears and struggled to find their meaning and purpose when everything seemed to be against them. The most memorable scene from that play was when a fire nearly destroyed the school and the books. The two directors played the part of the fire, bringing the fire to life and trying to discourage and tear down the teachers who fought to protect their school and their own identity. The drama was intensified by Star Wars music during the fight scene between the fire and the teachers.
A third play showed a teacher’s struggle to adapt and his interactions with teachers from other countries as he tried to use good strategies from other countries and cultures.
But I especially loved the performance that I had helped to edit. To Touch a Life was a musical, and I loved the students’ creativity in showing the struggle with learning English in an era of AI. One of my favorite songs was called Cages or Wings in which the teacher talked about whether we are giving students cages to trap them or wings to fly as we teach. Another debate between the students was a rap and the students discussed the advantages and disadvantages of technology. But in the end, they pointed out that the goal of teaching is to touch the lives of those we teach.
I can identify with this goal, and maybe that’s why the play felt so meaningful to me. I want to do more than just give students knowledge. I want to touch their lives. That’s why I try to learn the students’ names and that’s why I spend time talking with them before class and trying to get to know them. That’s why I invite the students over for game nights and talk and laugh and have fun with them.
I want students not necessarily to remember every fact that I teach them, but I want them to know that I care about each one of them. I want them to learn and grow and enjoy the process of learning. But I also want them to be confident and kind and loving to the people around them.
I want to touch the lives of my students, but I have also been blessed by students as they touch my life. I am honored to have been touched by many incredible students. When I lived in Hainan, my students were my lifeline. Since I didn’t speak or read Chinese at all, I couldn’t do anything, and the office would often push the responsibility of teaching me how to use the grading system onto the students. So the students ended up helping me enter grades into the system. They also helped me to figure out the buses, they showed me which shops were good at the canteen and introduced so many delicious foods to me. They taught me Chinese and they shared Chinese culture with me.
Now my students don’t do most of these things, but they still bless me in so many ways. My snack bowl is always full because students that come for game nights always bring more snacks than we can eat, so I save them for another party. My students share their thoughts and their struggles as we talk about different issues in class. I love seeing their openness and their honesty as we talk about difficult things.
Over my years of teaching, I have noticed a shift in my relationships with students. When I first started teaching, I was friends with many of my students because our ages were really close. I also had no idea what I was doing as a teacher, and my students helped me to learn and grow as a teacher. Now, I have learned how to be a much better teacher, and I have noticed that I am now more of a mentor than a friend for my students. They come to me with difficulties that they’re facing. Today, when I asked a student how he was doing, he told me about a family member who had passed away. I always feel honored when students tell me things like this, and I hope that I can pass on a little bit of hope and love for them. Life is tough, but I’m thankful for all of my students who are so full of life and energy.
I’m not sure how many lives I have touched, but I know that my life has been touched countless times by hundreds of students over the years. And I look forward to touching more for as many years as I get to teach.
I had so much fun taking pictures with my students after the performances!
