Volunteers will be in charge of designing their own teaching syllabus with the input of teachers and the kids themselves strongly encouraged. Dramatic Need provides a model syllabus with suggested lesson plans approved by professional music, art and drama therapists and teaching packs with suggestions and helpful facts. A syllabus can include a broad spectrum of musical and dramatic methods, from something as simple as encouraging kids to act out the movements of their favourite animal, to planning a concert or play to be performed in front of the local community at the end of your stay. Anything that encourages kids to inspired and get involved.
Expect it to change your life...
The setp-by-step guide to what you'll get up to on the Dramatic Need program
• You will be assigned two schools (usually a primary school and a crèche) before you leave home. This will give you an opportunity to familiarise yourself with the area and schools in which you will be volunteering.
• Upon arriving in South Africa, you will have completed a training workshop, which will help prepare you in what to expect.
• You will be provided with a detailed information pack This will contain lists of emergency numbers, first-aid advice, information about the area and the schools and a comprehensive, easy to follow, lesson plan in the specific discipline where your skills e.g.: i.e. art, music, dance or drama
• You will be given a few days in which to get acclimatised to the area and explore.
• You will then be introduced to the head teacher or Principal of your assigned schools with whom you will discuss the hours you will be working (these depend on the schools, but will be a minimum of 2 hours per day).
• With the head teacher or principal you will go through the syllabus. It is here that you have the chance to discuss any changes you may wish to make to the syllabus and suggest any goals you may wish to achieve.
• On the first day of teaching you will be shown around the school and introduced to the students!
• You will most probably be assigned to volunteer in two schools. Depending on the distances involved, this will mean either working in one school in the morning and one in the afternoon or (in the case of Schools which are further apart), working in one school for two days per week and one school for three days.
• You are encouraged to build up a routine with the kids, starting with the same simple warm-up exercises and games. Make it fun. Expect boundless enthusiasm!
• You are welcome to follow the recommended lesson plans, but should feel free to introduce ideas and concepts from your own training and experience, adapting to the size of the classes, ages and abilities of the children.
• We encourage you to work towards a final goal at the end of your stay. If your background is in music, we would suggest working towards a concert in front of the local community. If you are an artist, an exhibition of the children’s work or a large mural. If you are an actor or director, think about putting together a stage production.
• During the hours in which you are not teaching the children directly, expect to be asked to assist in helping other teachers, supervising meal or nap times or preparing a classroom for the next lesson. Try and help out as much as you can, make yourself useful! You’ve come all this way after all!
• What you do on your days off is up to you, but we would suggest
you visit students and get to know their families, explore the area and
involve yourself in the community as much as possible.
• The programme is designed to be an exchange of cultures and experience.
Soak it up!