Public School Teaching and Therapy

Tiffany, I'm in Canada, so my particular experience may not be true for you. However... I'm a public school teacher, (highschool) Specialist in Drama, did my M.Ed in Creative Art Thearapies, along with about 300 hrs of psychodrama training. To teach or not, you asked? In my school, adapting curriculum to meet my creative development goals can be very frustrating. As a classroom teacher, it's not your mandate. People are very nervous of teacher/therapist combinations. People are very nervous of therapy period. They generally don't understand that creative arts therapists can come from several models- medicine, visual art, and education, and that the educational model is a very non-invasive, facilitative one that does not "diagnose" illness. Believe it or not schools can be quite uncreative, untrusting places to work. You really have to focus, to create an atmosphere that supports the work. And you often end up alone, without peers who have the same focus and beliefs. You can get drawn in to trying to do great personal, creative work with 30 kids at a time! Too much demand in the long run, for the teacher.

Good news is- elementary schools are often more open to process. And the work with the kids is transformational for the teacher and the students.I wrote my Masters paper about the creative relationships in the classroom. It's been the most important teaching experience of my life. It matters more than any other kind of teaching, even if nobody recognizes what "subject" it is. And even if curriculum that allows creative process is the first to be cut when we go "back to basics".

Consider hiring on as a special resource teacher, or guidance professional with the social services branch of the Board (I think you call them Districts), where your mandate has the focus you want, should you decide to teach and then train as a therapist.

Whatever you decide, follow your heart-for it will always lead you home.

Lily

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