File puptcrit/puptcrit.0802, message 493


From: Monica Leo <goodfolk-AT-avalon.net>
Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2008 09:29:04 -0600
To: puptcrit-AT-puptcrit.org
Subject: [Puptcrit] Did anyone see this post??


Just wondering if anyone saw this post or if you all live on the 
coasts??


Hi, Lisa et al!

Seeing that you're from Wichita made me decide to put out a plea to all 
of you in flyover land, especially if you're members of Puppeteers of 
America.  We write the "Scene Between" column for the Puppetry Journal. 
  We're supposed to cover everything that happens in puppetry between 
the rarified regions of the two coasts.  We want to know what (who) is 
out there and what you're doing!  You can write to me on or off the 
list, but PLEASE respond and tell me who you are, what you're doing, 
what you have strong opinions about, etc.  I'm not sure what the 
subject of the next column will be (we just finished one, so it's not 
due for about 3 months), but I'm hoping one of you will give us an 
idea!
Thanks!
Monica
Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre
319 N. Calhoun, POB 330
West Liberty, IA. 52776
http://www.puppetspuppets.com



On Feb 12, 2008, at 7:57 PM, Lady Raven wrote:

> And everything Charles mentions is why I homeschool my two girls.  
> They help me make puppets, critique my shows, discuss the finer points 
> of this set piece or that one, and are preparing to participate in a 
> parade with me wearing stilts and full-body puppets.
>
> Yea!!
>
> I'm hoping to bring puppetry and the theatre arts to our fellow 
> homeschoolers who do have the time and interest in the fine arts.  I 
> just wish we could give this gift to area public school (ps) kids.  
> Our next door neighbor (ps child) can't believe there's a 
> puppeteer/artist living next door and she's always over asking to see 
> the next show, play with the stage, or participate in our latest 
> artistic endeavor.
>
> Thank you for your wonderful inspiration and continued efforts to 
> educate, entertain, and stretch the minds of our upcoming citizens.  I 
> don't post much but get unequaled knowledge and food for thought from 
> the fine artists here.
>
> Lisa
> Looking Glass Players ~ Quality Puppet Theatre
> Wichita, Ks.  USA
>
>
> Charles Taylor wrote:
>
>> Alan speaks so well, Here is my take on it from an educator's point 
>> of view:
>>
>> If you just consider No Child Left Behind and it=E2?=F4s negative impact 
>> on public education with testing requirements and  demands of 
>> administrators to look good, you can make the connection to why 
>> teachers under pressure teach to the test. There is less money for 
>> field trips, assemblies, materials for art or music.  Is it no wonder 
>> there is less demand for puppet performances in the schools.
>>
>> Puppetry, as is  paper pumpkins, turkeys, or any form of art 
>> displayed is considered =E2?=FAFLUFF=E2?=F9!  What a shame that children with 
>> impressionable minds have no access to manipulating color, line, 
>> design, pitch, rhythm, movement.  There is NO time because teachers 
>> must raise students test scores. Teachers and schools are threatened 
>> with state take overs if they dont.
>> For the last twenty years, I have been working fourteen to sixteen 
>> hours a day, seven days a week After having taught all elementary 
>> grades and college I  discover my own children have grown up with 
>> little interaction from their teacher father. If I could take that 
>> time back I would.  So what if my  students homework wouldn=E2?=F4t be 
>> corrected by the teacher. They did it at home, let the parents 
>> correct it.  I want to do puppets with my own children in my  home 
>> time.
>>
>> After 45 years of teaching I was pressured NOT to  not use puppetry 
>> in the classroom.  This was after twenty five years of being a mentor 
>> teacher, a master teacher and a university teacher of puppetry.  My 
>> master degree was in Interdisciplinary Studies with a specialization 
>> in puppetry, the first in the United States.
>>
>> Public education is NOTHING like it use to be.  Kindergarten now does 
>> what first and second grades use to do.  Homework overwhelms kids 
>> from kindergarten through twelfth grade. There are hours of homework 
>> every night. To graduate from high school, students must do Community 
>> Service.  There is little time for students to have free time or free 
>> choice.
>>
>> My own daughters have difficulty finding time to perform their  
>> excellent Punch and Judy Show or pursue interest in puppetry.  The 
>> politics and conservative,religious, even puritanical  attitudes are 
>> taking toll on our daily lives.  If we don=E2?=F4t have a CHANGE in the 
>> direction this country has been going, it will once AGAIN be illegal 
>> to smile, laugh or dance!  Forget that history  repeats itself and we 
>> pay a high penalty.
>>
>> Am I bitter?  YES!  Politics do effect every aspect  of our lives 
>> including puppetry. Denial may be a form of ignorant bliss!
>>
>> Charles Taylor
>>
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