What is important to us? About what do we care profoundly? The mask has served us well in digging deeply to uncover and discover our fears, our hopes and our vision for ourselves in the future. What am I hiding behind the mask? What am I hiding from? When do I put on my mask? When and for whom do I take it off? What does my mask represent? In responding to these questions, company members were able to identify and analyze individual behaviors and habits. Our actions and behaviors are motivated by external and internal ideas and perceptions that drive us to do the things we do. When we are conscious of our motivation for acting, we can then think about altering those behaviors we know are counterproductive to our well-being and to the well-being of others.

Company members generated a collective list of things that hold them back and keep them from showing their true selves.

[Read more…] about Barriers

“Where am I? I feel scared. I’m confused. I’m going to fall.” These words were common among members of Take Off the Mask Kids Opera Company as they were blindfolded and led by a partner through the hallways of the school. Up and down stairwells they proceeded with great trepidation and anxiety.

Each took turns being leader and follower. What was learned during this one-hour exercise could not be replicated or simulated by a textbook or curriculum guide. Effective communication, trust in self and others, consciousness of self and surroundings, risk taking, cooperation and patience were applied in an authentic context as students moved cautiously from one floor to another with their classmates.

Upon reflection, Carley wrote, “Even though I was scared, I still trusted Ruby to keep me safe.” [Read more…] about Trust Me

What is a logo? Why is it important to a company? What does it represent? These questions we pondered as we thought about our company name, Take Off the Mask Kids Opera Company. Each student drew a pictorial representation of our company name and composed a written defense proving its potential and significance in representing who we are.  Watching students prepare and verbally practice their defenses was intriguing. They were clearly engaged in the process and motivated to persuade their audience.

Osdiel defends his logo design, the one selected by the company to best represent its name. [Read more…] about Our Company Logo

We are Take Off the Mask Kids Opera Company.  On the first day of school when the class was presented with the mask and I asked, “How will the mask help in our learning this year?” Jasmine G suggested a powerful metaphor that has informed our instruction and our decisions as a company ever since. In thinking about who we are and whom we represent, Jasmine also offered a new word she had encountered in song lyrics.

The word . . . invincible. This led us back to the mask. How can we be invincible if we don’t take off the mask? In the process of determining our company name, students generated other metaphors and possible names that would help us present ourselves to the world. But, when company members broke into small groups to defend the name they thought absolutely best to represent us as a group, Take Off the Mask was the obvious choice. [Read more…] about Take Off the Mask

After reading The Music Inside Me, a book written by fourth graders in Massachusetts, my students pondered their music within. They drew pictures. I asked if they wanted to represent these drawings with music. A collective yes resounded. We gathered in the music room, surrounded by an assortment of instruments. Bells, glockenspiels, xylophones and recorders waited to be played.

Each student selected his instrument of choice and the exploration in composition began. It was fascinating to watch the creative process in action. For most, it was a first experience.

The time came to share the musical masterpieces with the class. Many seemed nervous as they joined their circle of fellow musicians. As they played, one after the other, the room filled with possibility, joy and accomplishment.

Carlos was deeply engaged in the experience and completely focused on finding his music within. Upon reflecting, Carlos did not hesitate to write. He wanted the world to know his discovery. [Read more…] about I Finally Know the Music Inside Me

The first day of school I present my class with a challenging math problem. All the students know we are creating an original opera, but know little else about the process they will experience during the year. So, I let them know we must start working immediately, give them the date of the opera premiere and ask them to determine the number of working days we have until the premiere. I hand them a school calendar and they get to work. No other direction is given. They understand that we need this information in order to plan for instruction and create a production schedule. [Read more…] about I’m Not Always Right

The first day of school beckons an intriguing metaphor, one that will pique the curiosity, create enthusiasm for learning, and open doors to discovering a new way of being in the classroom. A Venetian mask rests in a wrapped box, waiting to be revealed as a gift to begin the New Year. When opened, the students pass it around the circle admiring its beauty and mystique. Then I pose the question, “How will the mask help us in our learning this year?” Many students stare at me and at the mask, bewildered by the question. I assure them there is no wrong answer. They move to their desks to respond in writing. [Read more…] about The Mask

In their final words to the company on the last day of school, the students bared their souls in sharing their deepest emotions and heartfelt wishes for all. Though we will miss this circle and those who complete it, we will now move on to form new circles. And through these circles we will pass on the wisdom we have gained from one another. [Read more…] about The Last Word

On the last day of school, known as Move Up Day, all students travel as a group to meet their new teachers in the next grade level. Members of Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company made banners of welcome for the incoming company with sincere, thought provoking messages. They also wrote individual letters. Their words of wisdom were heartfelt and genuine in delivery. One sentence from David Montoya’s letter stood out. It speaks volumes about David’s interpretation of the classroom culture in which he has been immersed all year.

“In this class there is no perfect, there is no cool.”

Upon reading this, I felt an immense sense of pride as I realized the depth and breadth of my students’ academic, social and emotional maturity. They are now ready to move on and teach what they have learned to others. And I am ready to teach others what they have taught me.

[Read more…] about Words of Wisdom

After the opera, the company loses its sense of purpose for a short period and needs to find its way, its new path. The students try to revert to previous behaviors and “old ways” until they realize that they are changed forever. They can’t go back. Then, they determine the route for a new journey forward.

Back in September when the members of Harness the Stars Kids Opera Company attempted to accomplish the magic carpet challenge, it wasn’t to be. Now, after eight months of living the process of creating an original opera, working collaboratively, being conscious of one another, thinking about we, not me and independently putting on their very own production of Strike and Spare, they did it! They defeated the magic carpet. While standing on a plastic tarp, the company strategically managed to flip this “magic carpet” to the other side without stepping off onto the floor. This was no easy feat.

Since the company had to work through feelings of disappointment and sadness after the opera was over, I insisted that each student convince me that it was indeed the right time to attempt the challenge anew. As you will see below, they were very persuasive and I agreed. [Read more…] about We Didn’t Fail, We Finished! (VIDEO)