Amelia Hirsch is an honors English education major and theatre minor from Kansas City, Missouri who studied in London, England, this summer through the Theatre in London program at the University of Arkansas. While abroad, Amelia discovered a wider range of what education can be outside of the traditional classroom setting.
Attending a midsummer matinee
I’m minoring in theatre, so naturally, I was very interested in the program as theatre is in the title. But I was also excited to have the opportunity to see London, which is an experience that doesn’t come by very often. I have grown up surrounded by art and theatre, but due to cost, going to see shows or attend concerts is a very rare opportunity. At the very least, there were multiple productions and experiences that were included in the study abroad program cost. But the cost of tickets for nearly everything in London was significantly more affordable and allowed me the opportunity to see a wide variety of shows, including a spontaneous ticket to see Harry Styles at Wembley Stadium.
Shawn Irish, Head of Design & Technology and Lighting Design in the Department of Theatre, and Susan Marren, an associate professor of English, were amazing program leaders. They were so insightful and thoughtful about our lessons and teachings. In our class discussions the week before flying to London, Susan was incredibly well-versed in everything Shakespeare, which made analyzing the texts more manageable. Shakespeare is an incredible poet, but his writings are sometimes difficult to understand. Susan’s explanations and our classes’ open discussions about the text created a positive environment to understand Shakespeare without judgment. Then, when we were in London, after watching the shows at the Shakespeare Globe Theatre, hearing Susan and Shawn talk about the shows so passionately made me smile. Because of our class discussions over the text, when we finally saw the show, we were able to get into the story more as we knew what was going on.
Our classes abroad were very well structured and allowed us prior knowledge to build upon while we gained experience outside the classroom. I loved how our class was structured so I could go off independently and learn about things that interested me. As a student with ADHD, I like to explore independently as I find it difficult to focus on long lessons in a group setting. This structure really helped keep me engaged. This is a very different environment than any class at the U of A, as I had the opportunity to move around and look at things that may interest me more. Although a majority of our activities were self-guided, our blog posts gave us a goal to reach without being too demanding. I could still explore on my own without feeling that I wasn’t meeting the assignment requirements. We had a blog post that we completed prompts based on the class discussions and our activities. But, we were able to talk about anything that fits into the prompt instead of there being only one right answer.
A wild bloom!
This trip helped me understand a wider range of what education can be. I don’t have to be a teacher in a “traditional” classroom where my students listen to me lecture and they regurgitate information back to me for a pass-or-fail test. Instead, I can use their curiosity and create lessons that interest them. I want to create that variety so no student feels forced to fit into a box. Based on our class discussions, I want my students to explore their interests and relate what they’ve discovered to them. Those connections strengthen the pathways of learning and create deeper and stronger connections that promote their learning. I think it was an amazing format for instruction and inspired me in ways I can’t describe.
Bath time!
I have made so many memories on this trip. The blog helped me stay organized and created documentation of my memories. I was worried that after this trip, I wouldn’t be able to remember all the little details. So, I bought a journal to write down each day’s progress to ensure I didn’t forget anything. Naturally, with my ADHD, I forgot about the journal completely and didn’t write any entries. But, when I look back, I could tell you about every activity we did each day. Instead of being in a classroom where all the lectures seem to bleed together, I was out doing something different every single day. Each day had new foods and places to experience. Memories create such a strong emotional connection and make learning enjoyable and last. I only hope to create that environment in my classroom.
Outside of our meetings, I tried new foods I would have never had the guts to try. I also took a trip to Warner Brother Studios and Chessington World of Adventures. At both locations, I made so many amazing memories with a few people from our group I had only met a few weeks before. My bonds with these people grew to enormous lengths throughout the trip. We would take walks through London after dinner in a pub. A group of us went to Amsterdam for our free weekend, where we had a picnic in a park and explored yet another new city. In every city we explored, witnessing the locals be themselves was such a beautiful experience. I felt so lucky to witness a little boy get so excited over a plane landing with his father. I watched an older woman imitate a statue in the Victoria and Albert Museum. I overheard a grandfather explaining to his granddaughter how bees pollinate.
Woo pig!
After the flight back to the States, I first went home to my air-conditioned apartment, which was such a luxury. I have looked through all the videos and pictures I have gathered throughout my trip, and I will hopefully start and finish my journal soon. To be honest, this whole month has felt like a dream. I have always wanted to live in a big city, and London was an actual dream that became a reality. I would 100% recommend this trip to other students. I’m not a theatre major, and there were people who were on the trip with me who weren’t theatre majors either; we still had an absolute blast. Theatre aside, the experience of seeing so much history and learning about such a different lifestyle was so unique. Being there for a month allowed me to fully immerse myself into their lives in a way that other study abroad or rare vacations fail. This trip allowed me to learn about others, learn about myself, and learn to live.