Drama Unmasked

I am a retired teacher who was in the classroom for 38 years. I have taught language arts, literature, drama, speech, media studies, history, and alternative lifestyles to students from 5th to 12 grades in public, private, and culturally diverse schools in inner city, suburban, and country settings in Australia and the U.S.

Interactive; exploratory; workshops; reflection

Yet to be added

I have a BS in English and history with a minor in political science; a post-graduate degree in drama in education; a post-graduate degree in media studies; and a master's degree in adult education and training with a focus on teaching creativity. I have also done coursework in environmental science, library science, educational counseling, and arts' management.

Positions I have held within schools include: Cultural Coordinator, Head of Drama Department, Department Chair for Performing Arts, member of a school advisory committee, teacher representative of a school board, and mentor to a first year teacher. I was a Regional Challenge Master for Destination Imagination (in U.S.), organizer of Galway Regional Theater Sports’ Competitions (in Australia), and organizer of Regional Plain Speaking competitions (in Australia). My costume designs for a school musical won the Best Costume Award at the Peninsula Light Opera Society’s awards’ night (in Australia). One of my drama students won first place in the drama division of the Kilmore Rotary Club’s Talent Quest and first place for all divisions in the competition (in Australia). Another student won the Regional Plain Speaking competition and participated in state finals (in Australia). Several other groups of students won the Galway Regional Theater Sports competitions. I have traveled the world: Australia, New Zealand, Europe, India, South America, Morocco, Tahiti, Fiji, the Bahamas, Mexico, and within the United States. These experiences have given me insights into other cultures, broadening my perspective on life and giving me material to use in the classroom. I am an avid reader of fiction, history, politics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and current affairs which has given me. a deeper understanding of life and the world around me, providing me with material to use in a book I have written called "Leaving My Classroom Behind," which is about America's dysfunctional public education system and what we need to do to transform it.