Jason White

Teaching Philosophy

I teach because I want to give back to the art form that gave me everything. My own personal

experience in high school was difficult and many of the kids that go into theatre get categorized

as an “other.” My guiding value as a teacher is creating critical thinkers who know how to

conduct proper research as opposed to experts in the content area. This is because I know how

hard it is to be a successful artist, so I feel that training students on how to be empathetic

humans, and not masters of theatrical craft, proves more beneficial for them in the long run.

I designed my curriculum for my intro students with the intent of giving the strong

foundation to theatre. This foundation also can be utilized in all content areas not just theatre.

The focus of the first year is more based in applying history, analytical skills and being engaged

with others when they’re speaking. As they move through the program, we’ll delve into more

specific areas of theatre such as various acting methods or theatrical movement skills. These

methods will vary from Suzuki to Brecht to Viewpoints. A major focus of my Advanced classes

will be devising theatre, as it is important for our students to learn how to use their voice and that

their voice matters.

When preparing a lesson, I focus on the students being able to apply the lesson to their

other classes or their lives outside of school. Application and creation are major keys in learning.

If a student learns the material and doesn’t get to apply said information, they didn’t really get to

learn anything. Another way I prepare for a lesson is that I have someone who isn’t an educator

go over my lesson plan. I learned this method from my Bilingual education teacher at Arizona

State. She believed that If a non-educator can teach the content without having background
knowledge in the content area, then you’ve created an effective lesson plan. This extra step has

helped me keep the core of my lesson digestible and on track.

The best way to assess a students learning is to look at growth, especially when the

content area is a preforming art. Students who are shy are at a disadvantage from the very

beginning of class. As a teacher, holding them to the same standard as a student who’s been

active in community theatre and choir is not fair to the shy student. But, If the shy student is able

to get on stage and say their lines effectively and confidently, then they have learned something

and grown. Whereas, the student who was active in theatre before the class, has already learnt so

much already, their growth could be much smaller than someone starting out on square one.

Growth of the student both in the content area and as person are huge indicators of their progress

in my classroom.