My name is Carina Newman and I wish to apply for the post of Teacher of Drama at the Warwick School.
One of the reasons why I chose to become a teacher was to enthuse and motivate young people about education and, in particular, about Drama. As a by-product of this, I wanted to be able to teach them the valuable life skills that are acquired through the subject so that they could go on and not only use these for a profession in the Arts, but to apply them to their everyday lives to equip them for reaching their own potential.
I currently teach in a private boarding school which has provided me with many opportunities. As well as being able to teach at a high level, I have also been able to build strong, positive relationships with the students, which I feel has always been a particular strength of mine. I have worked with the students to motivate them into creating thought-provoking pieces of Drama, where they want to rehearse at any given opportunity. This is in correlation with the GCSE AQA exam syllabus, as I am currently responsible for working solely with the GCSE students, which start from Year 9 to Year 11. As well as this, I run 'actives' (clubs), such as the Senior Production (a modern version of Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet'), THE Junior Production (‘Dandelion Time’), a Comedy Club and I also teach Yoga. I am also working with two Graduate Actors in Residence and training them for the possibility of their initial teacher training. I currently also work as a part-time technician with my main responsibilities including props, set design, painting, theatre maintenance, stage management, cinema, puppets, masks, costume and lighting during a show. Along with this, I run a technical theatre club for all age groups as I feel that it is important to engage children in all elements of theatre – just because they may feel uncomfortable with performing should not exclude them and I would hope to find an interest for them in one of the other disciplines.
In my previous work within schools, I have taught the AQA exam syllabus for GCSE and AS-A Level as well as teaching a lot of KS3, where we had a lot of fun teaching varied schemes of work in order to make sure that we were able to find something to excite all of the students about Drama. I have also had experience in teaching English in KS3, Media Studies and BTEC Performing Arts. I also ran many Drama Clubs where we had showcases in the winter and summer terms, whole school performances (including 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Little Shop of Horrors'), Middle School Drama Club and acted as front of house staff for many Music, Dance and Performing Arts events. I have also experienced being a form tutor for Years 9-11, which I thoroughly enjoyed as I was able to get to know the students as well as help and prepare them for approaching their studies and for the start of their further education. I have also taken part in some influential training days, such as a day at a Pupil Referral Unit and at the National Centre for Children with Epilepsy. These training days had helped me to consider how to make sure that my lessons were accessible for all students, no matter what their ability or background is. This furthered my interest and I became the SEN Representative for Performing Arts within my school, where we held regular meetings with the SENCO. I applied these skills to my lessons in order to facilitate them for physically disabled students as well as those with specific learning difficulties. There were also a significant number of vulnerable learners and children in care, so I learnt valuable skills in how to work with these students. As previously mentioned, I have also worked with Middle Schools in the area to start Drama Clubs. I facilitated these, but they were mostly run by Sixth Form students who were interested in Drama in Education. We decided to run this club as we realised how daunting it must be for the young people to start at a new school, so we thought that a Drama Club would be a good way for them to get used to the space, the teaching staff and meet new people. This went on to show five successful performances whilst I ran the club.
I have also worked within a professional regional theatre. I started as an usher, which I found most valuable as I was able to watch a variety of types of theatre (for free!). This developed my knowledge and understanding of the practical element of the subject. I also went on to learn about life backstage, where I have worked as a stage hand, in wardrobe, follow-spot and was trained to use lighting and sound within the Studio space.
I enjoy working with young people and find that they are an inspiration to me. One of my most inspirational projects was working with a group of young people aged 9-18 with Barnardo's Cymru as a Community Artist. This was for my specialism in my third year of studying Performing Arts and Theatre Studies (my other specialism included Directing). I worked on a weekly basis with the young people and we created two performances. The first was 'Barnardo's Got Talent' and the second was 'Teenage Talks' - this was a project funded and performed to the Welsh Government where we explored current teenage issues and gave the young people a platform in which to show these to adults, as their voices can sometimes be stunted and seen as not important.
My interest in working with young people and, in particular, those with special requirements, has encouraged me to start my Master's Degree where I intend to have a specialism in Equality and Diversity. This is to help me further understand my students and allow me to teach them in a way that best suits them and allows them to unlock their potential. This could be through ensuring that my schemes of work are engaging or experimenting with a variety of teaching styles. I fully believe in the notion that 'Every Child Matters' and I want to be able to help them to fully realise what they are passionate about and help them to become respectful, helpful and intelligent citizens.
I now wish to branch out as a community artist with a particular specialism in Drama.