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Layla Villarreal
Professor Simons
Designs for Instruction
My Teaching Philosophy
Being a teacher is a responsibility that requires patience and care and allows someone to
be a role model for young people. As a teacher, I strive to create a safe, uplifting, and inclusive
classroom. I believe that students should be nurtured while also learning how to independently
use the tools they collect throughout the school year to aid their success both in the classroom
and their daily lives. By studying and teaching theatre, students learn important life skills like
communication in both professional and non-traditional settings, improvisation in their lives and
on stage, and connecting with their emotions while being vulnerable with their peers.
Theatre is an important tool for students to practice communicating concisely and
sometimes vulnerably. By exposing students to scripts and readings, students can gain
proficiency in public speaking professionally and in future academic endeavors. Because
students engage with lessons and scripts in the theatre classroom, students are going to encounter
scripts that deal with heavy topics and themes. Opening the conversation to more serious and
mature issues appropriate for their age allows students to learn from each other and,
consequently, will create an environment where students feel safe to share thoughts and ideas.
These tools utilized in the classroom will accomplish my goal of creating a safe environment for
my students. I will implement ways for students to express their thoughts and feelings, especially
when dealing with mature script themes. By learning how to communicate effectively, students
can express their needs and exhibit empathy for one another while reading and potentially
performing about heavy situations.
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I also strive to create an environment that uplifts my students by allowing them to
embrace failure and encouraging them to support and uplift each other. To develop and maintain
this environment, I encourage students to cheer each other on in their endeavors and understand
that someone else’s success does not equal another person’s failure. In a theatre and professional
setting, teachers challenge students to be vulnerable and prepare them to face rejection. These
practices are seen in audition rooms when a play offers a limited number of roles. Students will
also face rejection in their real lives, either personally or professionally. If teachers encourage
students in the classroom, they will appreciate their accomplishments and rejections and strive to
improve and grow in future endeavors. This skill allows the students to receive positive
reinforcement while being supported and heard in times and situations of rejection.
Another important value I aspire to implement is inclusion for all students. I believe that
theatre should be accessible to all, which requires teachers to replace the canon of Shakespearean
plays and include plays about playwrights of color, people with disabilities, and people
struggling with mental illness. By introducing students to playwrights and scripts from
marginalized communities and to more diverse plays, students can empathize with experiences
that differ from their own or identify with experiences they have lived. Being a part of a
marginalized community, I have benefited from having my culture or background represented in
class. As a result of reading and performing diverse plays and scripts, I hope the marginalized
students I teach will be able to feel seen and included. This practice not only allows for students
to be valued and supported, but I hope it also creates empathetic and understanding humans in
the process.
I aim to allow students to feel comfortable and supported within the walls of my
classroom. My teaching practices and goals will allow me to create the safe, uplifting, and
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inclusive environment I believe students deserve. Being in a classroom where students are asked
to step into the positions, lives, and worlds of characters that may or may not relate to who that
student is really allows a student to gain and experience empathy. By allowing students to
explore rejection, uplift each other, and feel safe and included, we foster an environment where
students take risks and step out of their comfort zone. By creating this community that fosters
creativity and rewards students for their authenticity, students are likely to feel connected with
the experiences they are portraying and with their theatre community. This allows students to
walk away from productions as well-rounded people and artists.
