The first step is the hardest

I learnt to ride a unicycle last summer. Not very well, but I can ride. It is the first time in a long time that I have attempted to learn something basically from scratch. When I think about my first attempts at riding the unicycle, what stands out in my mind is how much of a struggle it was to make those first few rotations of the wheel. Minutes turned into hours, which turned into days, which turned into weeks. Eventually I managed to loosen my grip on the patio posts, letterboxes, fences, barbecues and railings that I used to stop myself from falling. Letting go was the hardest part.

I have been telling my students for years that it is okay to fail as long as they use it as an opportunity for growth, for learning. Yet it took me weeks to realise the same thing when I found myself in similar circumstances. Until I convinced myself that falling off wasn't going to injure much more than my pride, I began to relax enough to make progress. Accepting failure was the first step on this particular road to success.

I also started practising in public. Places where I knew my own safety and the safety of others wouldn't be an issue, but also where I could easily be observed. Why should I be ashamed of learning a new skill? Practising in public also meant failing in public. But that was part of the experience. I wanted to embrace the thrill of the unknown that I so often encourage my students to enjoy. And it wasn't always enjoyable. It was valuable though.

Which leads me to this blog. The title, A Drama Teacher, is a reflection of my desire to have something with which to focus my writing balanced with a reluctance to be too definitive. I am one of many, and the many are a varied bunch based on those whom I have met and worked with, whose blogs I read or workshops I have attended.

So it is with great hesitation that I once again move out into a public space to learn something new. I hope that this endeavour will encourage a more considered and reflective approach to my teaching. Perhaps some new conversations will be started, or perhaps it will just be a place where I practice some new skills while others, who just happen to be passing by, look on with mild curiosity and then continue on their merry way.

Whatever happens from here, the first tentative move has been made. Now I just have to try and keep the wheel spinning and stay on top of it.