It’s not news that children - especially little boys - love superheroes. In the run up to, and during, Halloween it’s been possible to see youngsters dressed up in every flavour of crusader, caped or otherwise.

I have been asking mini-sized Batmen, Supermen, Iron and Spider Men amongst others what it is that they love so much about these characters. Mostly the answers revolve around their various superhuman capabilities and the fact that they are the good guys who can overcome any danger or threat to themselves or humanity as a whole. Behind these words lie the truth of the matter.
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I've been holding drama workshops in Latvia again - so I'm re-publishing this blog, for the participants of those workshops:

This article, discussing the value of incorporating performance into senior school, first appeared in Teach Secondary magazine.

My thanks to editor Helen Mulley for allowing reproduction, and if you want to know more, details of this and their other magazines and resources are available at:https://www.teachwire.net

What a Performance!

It’s a curious dichotomy we live with when it comes to the notion of performance, I think. On the one hand it feels like every other young person you come across is all set to win the X Factor and become the next big thing, and on the other hand we’re brought up being told that no-one really likes a show off. . . talk about mixed messages. . . where does this leave us with our attitude to performing within our school environment?

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So it's time to start thinking about the school year that lies ahead for our little darlings. How well do you remember your own school days? What are the things you remember most powerfully? Do you feel in touch with your own childhood? Does the remembering make you feel good or bad?

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Fashion is a slippery master. It pervades almost every aspect of our lives, not just music and clothes, but attitudes, values and personality traits. These days the tenet that ‘you can achieve anything if you want it enough’ is all pervasive. Similarly I see a trend towards ‘loving yourself’ gathering momentum. Less in favour are the not-so-thrusty attributes of modesty and humility.

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So what are you scared of? Do you want your children to be frightened of that thing too?

In evolutionary terms, we can understand the benefits of learning from our parents which creatures to avoid or run away from, and this holds true even nowadays when it comes to stroking lions or using crocodiles as stepping stones. Most of us, however, live in a world that is mostly un-fraught with danger and where we have to be afraid, it is primarily of each other. But we are still passing on our own fears to our children.

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