The Phoenix Theatre for Children Residency Partnership with the Columbus Community and Its Schools
After twenty years of experience working with children and young people in our community, The Phoenix Theatre for Children Artistic Director, Steven C. Anderson was painfully aware of a very disappointing fact: many bright young people of our community were failing in school. These children have been mislabeled early in the educational process. They were and are at risk, from an educational standpoint at the very least.
In answer to the dilemma, Anderson developed The Phoenix Theatre for Children Residency Programs. Based upon the philosophy and theories of Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of education at Harvard University, the Residency Programs offer children a non-traditional way to learn. Dr. Gardner theorizes that there are at least seven distinctly different ways in which we learn. These types of "intelligence" include: linguistic, logical (mathematical), spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal (understanding others), and intrapersonal (understanding oneself).
Traditional classrooms employ only linguistic and logical intelligence. Similarly, school testing and grading use instruments that measure only those intelligences. Children who learn primarily through one of the other intelligences are in serious jeopardy of failure. It is possible to provide linguistic learning (reading and writing) through kinesthetic, musical or even spatial activities. Theatre, because it employs all seven of the above mentioned intelligences, can provide a bridge between the way a child learns and the material he/she must master. Perhaps more importantly, the learning activities The Phoenix Theatre for Children provides can help classroom teachers see their students as positive learners with potential for success.
Realizing that purely anecdotal data about increased learning outcomes, compelling as it may be, is not enough to prove our success, The Phoenix Theatre for Children is working cooperatively with The Ohio State University College of Social Work to do research that will provide quantitative data relative to our success with students. This study will measure the change in teacher expectations as well as in students' learning outcomes.
In addition to the increased learning potential of students, The Phoenix Theatre for Children Programs foster self-esteem, increased attendance, responsible behavior, learning readiness and literacy in the students. Students show a marked increase in willingness to try new experiences because of their involvement and commitment to the creation of their work with The Phoenix Theatre for Children. Attendance dramatically increases during each residency period. Our non-traditional learning activities provide a "safe place" for children to take intellectual and social risks. The Phoenix Theatre for Children programs offer the children validation...and perhaps the first success of their young lives. Previously unsuccessful students are reflected in new light to their teachers, their peers, and perhaps most importantly to themselves.
Residency Programs are now widely recognized by educators as the impetus for new ways of learning for the children. The highly touted programs organized by The Phoenix Theatre for Children have broad community involvement. Funding has been received from a variety of sources including foundations and corporations.
There is no other entity in the community working with young people in the same manner as The Phoenix Theatre for Children. In fact, this program has been cited as a paradigm of community involvement for arts organizations. Residencies are not an outreach arm of the organization. Rather they are an integral part of our mission.