Wellington High English teacher Tamara Donovan has been selected to attend a year-long mentorship program that will help her implement new approaches in the classroom.
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In February, Ms Donovan will travel to Bell Shakespeare's Sydney headquarters for specialist training in teaching Shakespeare to students in a more practical way.
On her return to school, she will receive ongoing support from Bell Shakespeare artists and staff as well as access to in-school and in-theatre programs.
Ms Donovan came to Wellington High in term four of 2019 and is the new Head Teacher of English.
She was looking forward to delivering the program in a way that gave students the skills and understanding of how Shakespeare's plays were intended for the audience.
"Sometimes as English teachers we forget about that," Ms Donovan explained.
"We look at the metaphors and themes, not how it was intended to be acted. So I think it (the program) will give me the skills to."
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She had known about the mentorship for a few years before she decided to apply for the 2020 program.
"I'd worked with some teachers at other schools who had done it and they said it was the best thing for their career...," Ms Donovan explained.
With the encouragement and help of principal Rod Cosier, they submitted an application and were successful.
One of the biggest things she was looking forward to was finding out the new ways to teach Shakespeare to Wellington students.
"As teachers sometimes we get caught up with trying to get the content done and we make it really boring and the kids aren't into it," Ms Donovan said.
"Getting new ways from Bell Shakespeare to actually teach the kids and make it more engaging so they actually enjoy it and showing the teachers in my faculty how to use those skills as well."
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The program provides important professional development for teachers who may not otherwise have those opportunities.
Ms Donovan hopes by being a part of the program it can flow into the community, by giving students the opportunity to attend more cultural events or have in-school performances or workshops by Bell Shakespeare.
"So the kids can have different experiences that they aren't getting currently," she said.
"It's giving them those skills to critically think, analyse and think about the wider world.
"So when they do leave Wellington High, leave Wellington or stay,... they're able to use those critically thinking skills, for example when they sign a contract they're able to read it and understand it."
Ms Donovan added that a lot of the themes in Shakespeare are still relevant today.
"I think understanding Shakespeare, particularly the themes and content, helps kids in their everyday life...," she said.