Slice of Lucy: Action!

Action!

Lucy Yeager
March 5, 2026


"You all know by now that acting is 50% acting...and 50% reacting."

This wisdom was dropped on 11- and 12-year-olds just moments before the audience was ushered in for their first performance of this year's middle school musical. Actually, the director paused dramatically after saying "acting" and waited for the kids to join her in finishing what must be a mantra of sorts in her space. I think they understood the assignment.

That equation resonates with me as a Humanities teacher. I plan and prepare for a class, show up at the appointed time, and with various props and good material, welcome my students into a story. However, the magic in orchestrating a meaningful learning experience is in eliciting and expecting students to react to what they are reading, researching, and discussing, then building on their wondering and pressing need to know more. 

Case in point, Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This musical blurs the line between actor and audience; we are all in the company, powerless to resist the unfolding story. From the opening measure, one reacts viscerally to the music. One reacts to seeing Black, Latino, and Asian actors as the age-old characters of our nation's revolution. One reacts to each character's personal story. One reacts to the stark class lines made visible and indelible. Our reactions help the cast tell their story. It is impossible to watch Hamilton; one is swept up into it!

When I was studying history at my students' age, my teacher, Mr. Blair, droned on and on, listing every detail of what happened on a given day in God-forsaken medieval England. Despite the fact that I had a huge crush on him, I could not stay awake because his recitation was as unhealthy as blood-letting. I never felt like I was part of the learning experience; I was only a semi-conscious observer of his monologue. I'm not saying academic classes have to be show-stopping, but Mr. Blair could have learned from a drama teacher or Lin-Manuel Miranda that delivering lines is the equivalent of an F, that is, only 50% of a rich learning experience.


Comments

  1. CherylMarch 5, 2026 at 8:27 PM

    I love how your last line ties it all together. Isn't it great when chaperoning means doubling a meaningful experience for yourself by seeing your students soak it up in awe?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Slice of Lucy: Learning Piano

Image
  Learning Piano March 1, 2026 Lucy Yeager This is my first post...ever. I'm 55 years old, and I kind of wonder why anyone would want to read something I've written about something I'm doing. That said, I can write my story even if no one wants to read it, right? I have thirty minutes until my piano lesson, so here goes! When I was a little girl, I loved to dance. My family somehow scraped together the money for lessons, and I invested myself wholeheartedly in ballet and Russian folk dancing for a decade. Due to time and financial constraints, each kid in my family basically got to do one extra-curricular, and d ancing was my thing. Dance gave me a sense of community and joy;  in fact, I still take a dance class each week.   However, thirty years later, when I was awaiting my son's birth and contemplating all of the hopes and dreams I had for his life, I promised him (and me) that he would get to study music at a young age. I knew it would be easier to learn then and wo...
Read more

Slice of Lucy: What Does It Mean To Be Late?

Image
What Does It Mean To Be Late?  March 2, 2026 Lucy Yeager What does it mean to be late?  It might mean the plane taxis to the runway without you. Or you get an annoying fee added to your credit card bill.  Or you might be delivering a baby in about nine months! This morning, it meant another exasperated car ride to school, deafening, tense silence blooming between my teenager and me.  My son is a night owl, sleeps through anything, and is a sloth in the morning. During middle school, he would ride with me for our taxing five-minute commute, arriving nonplussed because my start of day was earlier than his. He slow-rolled into school like he had all of the time in the world while I slouched self-consciously into the faculty meeting.  Fast forward to this year, my son has to catch the shuttle from my school to his before my start time. All of a sudden, he really cares about being on time. He might not spring out of bed until 7:35 a.m., but he is wheedling about it...
Read more

Slice of Lucy: Confirmation Email

Confirmation Email Lucy Yeager March 4, 2026 At 4 p.m., the email popped into my mailbox. At the time, I was working with a student after school, but I was attuned to the slight vibration of my phone. I'd been expecting it, been led to believe I would receive it. I discreetly verified it was what I thought and hoped it was, then turned my focus back to my student. This evening, I realize I am happy and grateful to have some small sense of security in this chaotic world, to be able to provide for my family for the foreseeable future. I am humbled. Some colleagues did not receive the same type of cover letter or any attachment at all.  I am hopeful about the students I will teach and the growing we will do together in the year to come. I am proud that I still have something to offer and a place to contribute. I am also excited (and terrified) to think of what might be next because I have decided I will only sign two more contracts after this one. In May 2029, I will see my son gradua...
Read more