Don't Axe The Arts: A Plea for Creative Drama

2-27-03

Chairman Kelly and respected Senators,

It is a privilege to talk to you today on behalf of theatre education. My name is Kirsten Pardun-Johannsen. I teach theatre arts to first through fifth grades in the Orono Public School district and I teach future elementary teachers at Bethel College in Roseville, MN. I moved from the regular classroom where I taught third and fourth grade to the theatre specialist classroom when the standards dictated a need for such education. There, I created a comprehensive theatre and creative drama curriculum. Prior to that time, the school districts in which I taught offered elementary children only visual art and sometimes music class. Because the standards required that schools address at least three arts learning areas, my district made the move to add the theatre program. Many schools however did not have that luxury and so, as a member of the Arts Best Practice Network, I spent a considerable amount of time working with my regular ...