Student theater can provide important opportunities for mentor-mentee relationships that build confidence, social-emotional learning and creative thinking in older and younger students alike, according to an article in K-12 Dive.
“Theater skills and leadership skills go hand-in-hand,” says Jennifer Katona, executive director of the Educational Theatre Association. “By the nature of a rehearsal process, you’re getting a great cross-pollination of ages.”
The mentoring dynamic can be less formal in smaller schools and districts, perhaps with theater teachers bringing middle schoolers to see high school students perform, for example, Katona says.
In larger schools and districts, some theater teachers have robust mentoring programs with touch points “just as intricate as their rehearsal schedule,” she says.
Older students who act as mentors build their own knowledge as anyone does when teaching other people, Katona says.
“Anytime your own knowledge increases, you get a confidence boost. That’s wonderful for SEL — you can feel like an expert in something,” she says.
Younger students who are given pointers by an older peer rather than a teacher might take in the information more openly, Katona says.
Student-to-student dialog creates a comfort level in asking questions and being vulnerable, she explains. “When we are able to open ourselves up that way, it’s a really healthy space to be in, and it’s a creative space to be in. It’s also fun, which we can’t leave out of the SEL question. Laughter and joy are necessary.”
Theater creates plenty of both, and it boosts social-emotional learning in a way that doesn’t happen as readily in a rushed, screen-oriented culture, Katona says.
“We’ve lost the ability to engage, to look each other in the eye, to think about something meaningfully,” she says. “Theater forces us to slow down and think for a beat. All of that is very healthy for all of us. People are buying apps to remind themselves to breathe in the middle of the day. That’s what theater already does for us.”
K-12 Dive
