Tasha Prescott
Congratulations to Tasha Prescott, Drama Teacher, Arts Director, and Education Leader, for earning certification through SHOS! Tasha used our free book distillations to create two powerful artifacts for moving education forward:
She applied concepts from our Different Schools for a Different World Distillation to craft an intentional assignment for her drama students. Here is how she framed this assignment:
“Using ideas from this distillation, I really busted open the process of show selection for the final show of the year. I let the students choose the 4 plays we were going to read in class, giving them agency over concept and ideas, and allowing them to find work that they resonated with and related to. After reading the four plays in class, I created a google form to have the students rank their choices. After ranking, I had them use their voice, along with research skills, to write two persuasive papers for one of the shows and against one of the shows as part of the final selection process. The assignment write-up is attached. The work I am getting back is both reflective, powerful, and inspired. They are taking agency of their learning, finding passion in their choices, and sharing their voices (along with utilizing English skills!). It's been amazing to see the students invest more and find deeper meaning in the process!”
Using our Distillation of Start with Why, she created a slide deck to inspire faculty to find their Why during the difficult school year of 2020-21. Here is her thinking behind bringing Simon Sinek’s ideas into her own school:
“I chose this distillation because I was searching for something that would reignite purpose and passion in our teaching community. Through the distillation process, I determined that it was the perfect landing pad for creating a quick PD unit that could realign ideas and respark love. I used it pretty much as is, without deviating from content, but added intentional questions that resonated with the audience and the community to spark reflection and discussion.
Tasha, thank you for being such an empowering educator and for applying what you learned in order to make your school better!
Do you need professional development hours? Want to spend your time building practical tools for your school and classroom instead of just jumping through hoops? Contact us, and we can get you started on certification. 😀
Tasha with her drama students as the cast of She Kills Monsters, Young Adventurers Edition by: Qui Nguyen, the play they chose after much debate from their argumentative essays!
Here are quotes from Tasha’s 9th-12th grade students about their play selection process:
“The depth of a piece of work dictates its long-lasting importance on us. Creative storytelling is the pinnacle of what we build our society on. Every movie, every book, every practice is built on stories. Our life is one marvelous story and we are the main character. Therefore, the stories that we portray should reflect the marvelous stories that are our lives. Enter She Kills Monsters. A play that parallels the greatness of what life can be and what we make of our lives...The theme that makes this play so beautiful and so necessary for production, is embracing who we can be and not letting others define who we are...Stories deserve to be remembered. Stories need us, and we need stories. We need stories that showcase our humanity, our struggle for identity, our struggle for existence. This is not an easy play to perform, but its message is necessary. Its message is needed.: - Luke
“Everyone has struggled with confidence at some point in their lives. Everyone wants to fit in, nobody wants to be judged, or talked about, or stared at. This play just tells you that you can’t worry about what others think. You only have one life, and you have to live it as genuinely as possible, because if not, then what kind of life is that?” - Audrey
“I remember the first time that you took a group of us to go see Hairspray at Sam Houston. I was captivated by the brilliant performance those actors put on and I was so moved by the storyline. I remember hoping that the moment would never end and I can remember wanting to be on stage telling that story alongside my peers. I think that moment is the most important for a future theatre kid. It’s what drives them to actually step up and tell important stories like She Kills Monsters does. I’ll never do a play again after this year and I think it is extremely important that my last play really means something to me and makes an impact on our community. I want to encourage others to follow in my footsteps and discover who they truly are through the power of theatre.” - Lanie
“The quote ‘Great theatre is about challenging how we think and encouraging us to fantasize about a world we aspire to be’ by Willem Dafoe reminds us that theatre can challenge our minds and help us understand each other better...This play has so much potential for a powerful impact on our audience and brings them on a mythical journey that will make them laugh.” - Bella
“I love everybody in our class and want each and every one of them to feel comfortable and accepted by their peers...This is our last show as a group. I have seen passion in this show like I’ve never seen towards a production ever before. This play means so much to me and to others in our class.” - Mack
“The powerful messages and themes shown in the play have had a big emotional impact on me and I’m sure once we perform this the audience will be left thinking about this play long after it's over...I know that I’m not the only one this passionate about putting on this production, and I know that the drama department can handle putting on a difficult show such as this one. I am confident that we can do it well.” - Randy
“I believe that She Kills Monsters is the best play to act out because of its diverse and unique storyline...There are also instances in this play where we have to be serious which is something I think we can all handle because of how many different types of plays we have done in the past. It also shows lots of character development, different styles of acting, and a diverse cast of personalities. I think that we can definitely pull off this play very well as we have done many times in the past.” - Jackson
