Matrix Reader's Theater

Vision:

To create and facilitate intercultural and multi-age MRT all over the world.

Mission:

MRT is a Beacon, Cross-Cultural Global Platform that brings groups, teams,

countries and nations together to enhance language skills for the purpose of

improving global communication while encouraging the spirit of love, unity and

collaboration to create a Sustainable, Peaceful and Harmonious world.

to join the mailing list please email Tracy NOW at  ngge.k12 at gmail.com

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Matrix Reader's Theater 

- previously known as Tracy's English Reader’s Theater

facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2743511202599399/

Matrix / English Reader’s Theater Zoom Room:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6034936986

Room opens at 14:50 (Vienna) for meet and greet.

topline website www.ngge.org

News

MATRIX READER’S THEATER CLUB NEWS

July 19, 2020

Greetings to you all,
We have been developing an executive team which has been preparing to expand MRT
globally. This week they drafted a mission and vision statement:

MRT Club Vision:

To create and facilitate intercultural and multi-age MRT all over the world.

MRT Club Mission:

MRT is a Beacon, Cross-Cultural Global Platform that brings groups, teams,
countries and nations together to enhance language skills for the purpose of
improving global communication while encouraging the spirit of love, unity and
collaboration to create a Sustainable, Peaceful and Harmonious world.

We would love your feedback on these statements. Do you feel they encompass the
essences of MRT Club purpose?

The past few weeks we have had the pleasure to have members facilitate our club
meetings. Every club meeting, members bring something new to the table and
continue to grow the depth of what can be done through MRT. Unfortunately the
scripts we read the last couple of weeks are not available to the General Public unless
the individual facilitator changes their presentation to “public”. Some members chose
to do a RT we have done before adding their own personal twist to the facilitation and
others have adapted or written their own. I have chosen to use a few of those for our
group this week.I am only listing the what, not the when.

Ekaterina Tolmacheva ​(Catrina) shared the “The Fisherman and the Goldfish”
with a great way to arouse our curiosity. Perhaps she will share with us how she did her
“magic trick” and then we will reread her play.

Neba Grace wrote a beautiful and timely script, “Mother Earth is Full of
Abundance”. We will also read the RT “Into the Rainforest”. What is the theme both
are trying to educate towards?

Olga Nikiforova shared 2 Russian Folktales, one being “The Bun”. I do not
have a copy of her play yet but maybe she will share it again in group. I have included
the story, “The Gingerbread Boy” so we can do a comparative reading.

It is amazing how many social and cultural issues are being discussed through
the MRT. Some members have suggested to have a session open now and again to
just allow for a continuation of these discussions. Another suggestion has been to have
some sessions devoted to a new tool or a writing workshop. I will begin to add these
suggestions into our weekly schedule based on the memberships feedback.
Watch for new announcements as our Executive Team moves forward to open
MRTclubs up globally. New on how you can become a facilitator and start your own
clubs is in the near future.

Please share with others our Vision and Mission Statement and encourage
others to join our FaceBook group. Do you know of others who would like to receive the
MRT Newsletter? Send me names and email addresses and they will be added to our
subscribers.

Thank you to everyone for your enthusiastic support.

Tracy

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Sunday May 31st from Tracy 

ENGLISH READER’S THEATER NEWSLETTER WEEK OF JUNE 1, 2020  

Monday: June 1 - Cinderella, a 9 part RT. . 

Wednesday: June 3 - . Review of last weeks plays and discuss possible re-writes :-

 1. The Water Cycle RT:   It was pointed out that it should just be the two drops (characters) telling the story with a few narrative parts. That would mean a re-organising of the dialog along with a little rewrite. Let’s see what you come up with. 

2. Three Billy Goats Gruff RT: Everyone felt the ending was abrupt and dull. Actually it is not the original ending of this story.   Your task is to take the play from when Big Billy Goat Gruff and the Troll meet and rewrite the ending

.Friday: June 5 - The Legend of Slappy Hooper: An American Tall Tale for 8 or more readers. PDF attached.  

Our YouTube Channel: The Matrix Learning Center: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkJapDtWhCbRZzGvXa2aRFA  

Zoom link for RT (and OTB): https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6034936986 Meeting ID: 603 493 6986

Sunday 24th May, from Tracy

My selection this week is a mixture of readings:-

Monday: Neba Grace and I will be hosting this meeting together. She will share her recent experience of losing her grandmother, their funeral customs, and the difficulty you face when you aren’t able to be with loved ones at times like this. Her Grandmother loved cats. Grace sent me a story which we have turned into a Reader’s Theater script. There are 9 parts

Wednesday: Some ask how they can use this approach in other curriculum areas so we will be doing a Reader’s Theater on the water cycle. This has many parts for reading opportunities.

Friday: We are going to have a bit of fun with a story called “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”. 7 parts There is a mean Troll in this story who won’t allow the goats to cross his bridge.

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Sunday 17th May, from Tracy.

Good morning club members!

It is exciting and encouraging to see how we are growing in numbers.  This week’s schedule is as follows:

Monday:  A tale from Ireland, “The Giant’s Wife” with 7 reading parts.

Wednesday:  We will do something a little different.  Catherine sent me a short story by Isaac Asimov called “The Fun They Had”.  I have attached it here.  We have written a reader’s theater script (9 parts)  from this story which I will share on Wednesday.

Friday:  “The Princess Mouse” from Finland - 8 parts

I want to express my thanks to you all for making this time so special.  If you have ideas, suggestions, or feedback of any kind, "I’m all ears”.  Also, if you have any favorite stories that I can download or that you can send, I will start to turn some into reader’s theater scripts.  At a later date, if there is interest, we will work on one together during our group so you can also begin to develop scripts!

Remember, we meet Monday, Wednesday and Fridays at 10 am EST 

  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6034936986

Meeting ID: 603 493 6986

Hope to see you all on Monday!

texts here:- google doc sharing, no download

The Giants Wife

The fun they had

The Princess Mouse

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video from Fridays session here

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I'm quick and smart as I can be. Try and try, but you can't catch me!-

This week’s Reader’s Theater is “The Adventures of Mouse Deer”, a tale of Indonesia and Malaysia, as told by Aaron Shepard. 

Texts here 

http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE35.html

http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/R01.html#song

“Mouse Deer sings his song as he walks through the forest looking for tasty fruits and roots and shoots. Though he is small, he is not afraid. He knows that many big animals want to eat him -- but first they have to catch him!

Over the week we will be reading a series of 5 plays to find out how Mouse Deer gets the best of his enemies -- Tiger, Crocodile, and the most dangerous animal of all, Farmer!  We will also compare this Mouse Deer in this folktale to Anansi, which we read earlier.

*Tentative schedule:

Monday:  We will first learn the Mouse Deer song, lyrics at the top.

Introduction: pgs. 2-4   4 parts

Story 1:  pgs. 5-10   6 parts

Wednesday:

Story 2  pgs. 11-14    6 parts

Friday Story 3  pgs. 15-20   6 parts

Ending  pgs. 21-22   4 parts

*The schedule is just a suggestion.  We come together to learn from each other, refine our English, and most important, to have fun.

Looking forward to seeing you all Monday, at 9:00 am EST at out zoom link here.    

English Reader’s Theater Zoom Room:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6034936986

 Room opens at 8:45 for meet and greet.

Links you might want:

Our Anansi RT:  https://youtu.be/bqHa1SRjz98

Link to Mouse Deer song:  http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE35.html

English Reader’s Theater Zoom Room:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6034936986

Tracy Hanson, Founder/CEO

Next Generation Global Education

btracyh@gmail.com
matrixofalearner.com

Vigor International Humanitarian Award 2018
World Icon of Peace Through Transformation of Learning 2018

Matrix Learning - KW26 2020

 

Matrix Learning - KW26 2020

2020 Wk25 June	Mon 22	Tue  23	Wed 24	Thu 25	Fri 26	Sat / Sun 27/28
English Reader’s Theater Info	1500		1500		1500
ERT Kids			1630		1630
Kicking Out the Box		1500		1500
Cafe DENglish Info on fb		1600
Job Club - New	1700
Happy Cafe  fb info					1730
Women with Passion Chat						Sun 1600
Design thinking for Pre Teens			1700
Goal Mapping for kids ( coming )

NGGE - ( Tracy ) Regard4Virtues -  ( Cicely)  Special Projects - ( Markus )  The Learning Street - “nurturing learning communities along the street” ( Nigel )             source

A Different Kind of Education for Your Child?

Posted on by AERO Webmaster

The Ten Signs You Need to Find a Different Kind of Education for Your Child

click here to view the spanish translation.

by Jerry Mintz

Many parents don't realize that the education world has changed drastically since they were in school. Schools and class sizes used to be smaller, dropout rates lower, in-school violence almost unheard of, and teachers weren't terrified of showing affection to their students, or of discussing moral values. Of course, even then, school was far from perfect, but at least the teachers—and usually the principal—knew every student by name, something that is increasingly rare today.

Because our public school system has deteriorated considerably, many parents, teachers, and individuals have taken it upon themselves to create public and private alternatives to that system; and it is important for parents to know that they now have choices.

So how do you know that it's time to look for another educational approach for your child? Here are some of the signs:

1. Does your child say he or she hates school?

If so, something is probably wrong with the school. Children are natural learners, and when they're young, you can hardly stop them from learning. If your child says they hate school, listen to them.

2. Does your child find it difficult to look an adult in the eye, or to interact with older or younger children?

If so, your child may have become "socialized" to interact only with peers within their own age group—a very common practice in most schools—and may be losing the ability to communicate with a broader group of children and adults.

3. Does your child seem fixated on designer labels and trendy clothes for school?

This is a symptom of an approach that emphasizes external rather than internal values, causing children to rely on shallower means of comparison and acceptance, rather than deeper values.

4. Does your child come from school tired and cranky?

While a student can have a hard day in any school, consistent exhaustion and irritability are sure signs that their educational experiences are not energizing, but actually debilitating.

5. Does your child come home complaining about conflicts that they've had in school, or unfair situations that they have been exposed to?

This may mean that the school does not have a student-centered approach to conflict resolution and communication. Many schools rely on swift, adult-issued problem solving, depriving children of their ability to emotionally process and thoughtfully discuss the situation at hand.

6. Has your child lost interest in creative expression through art, music, and dance?

Within the traditional system, these creative outlets are often considered secondary to "academic" areas, and are not as widely encouraged. In some cases, courses in these areas are not even offered any more. This neglect often devalues, or extinguishes, these natural talents and abilities in children.

7. Has your child stopped reading or writing—or pursuing a special interest—just for fun? Are they investing the bare minimum in homework?

This is often a sign that spontaneous activities and student independence are not being valued in their school. Children have a natural inclination to direct their own learning; however, an emphasis on meeting standardized test requirements limits the abilities of teachers to nurture and encourage this inclination. The result can be an increasing apathy toward subjects that were once exciting, and a loss of creativity.

8. Does your child procrastinate until the last minute to do homework?

This is a sign that the homework is not really meeting his or her needs—perhaps it's “busy work” or rote memorization—and may be stifling to their natural curiosity.

9. Does your child come home talking about anything exciting that happened in school that day?

If not, maybe nothing in school is exciting for your child. Why shouldn't school—and education—be a fun, vibrant, and engaging place?

10. Did the school nurse or guidance counselor suggest that your child may have a "disease," like ADHD, and should be given Ritalin or another behavior regulating drug?

Be wary of these diagnoses and keep in mind that much of the traditional school curriculum these days is behavior control. If test requirements limit a teacher's ability to engage students, if students are discouraged from following their own passions and expected to sit for five or six hours a day with limited personal attention and interaction, I suggest it's the school that has the disease, EDD—Educational Deficit Disorder—and it might be time to get your child out of that situation!

If your child has exhibited several of these characteristics, it's time for you to start looking for an alternative. In most parts of this country today, there are many options to choose from—public and private. For example, 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have now enacted legislation which allows groups of parents and teachers to create charter schools, which are not stuck with having to fulfill as many of the myriad of state regulations and can create their own individualized approach. There are now more than 4000 of them. There are also 4,500 magnet schools throughout the country, public schools that specialize in an area of expertise, and draw students from a wider geographic area.

Additionally, there are over 4,500 Montessori schools, based on the experiential approach designed by Dr. Maria Montessori, and hundreds of Waldorf schools, which put equal emphasis on traditional academics areas and the arts. There are also hundreds of independent alternative schools, many emphasizing participant control, with parents and students taking responsibility for their own educations. The latter are often called democratic schools, free schools, or Sudbury schools.

Many public school systems, too, have a variety of alternative programs within their systems. These are divided into two general approaches:

1. Public Choice; programs which are open to any student in the community. Sometimes they are called Schools Within Schools.

2. Public At-Risk; programs for children who have had a variety of problems coping with school. These programs run the spectrum from helpful to dumping grounds. Examine them closely before making a decision to enroll.

Parents of well over a million children in this country have checked off "none of the above" and decided to teach their children at home. It is now legal in every state and does not require teacher certification. Homeschooling has taken a variety of approaches. Some try to create "school at home" with a fairly standard curriculum, the main difference being that parents can teach one-to-one with their children. Some families have signed up with a curriculum designed by an umbrella school; this school will help the parents create their own curriculum or, provide its own basic curriculum, grade homework, and help with any necessary report forms.

A third approach is called "unschooling." In this case the parent bases their educational approach on the interest of the child and builds on that, rather than a pre-set curriculum. In some cases, curriculum is designed "retroactively," by keeping records of the activities throughout the year and at the end of the process dividing the experiences into the appropriate subject area.

Remarkably, since most states require some form of testing for homeschoolers, as a group, they average in the 85th percentile, compared to the 50th percentile of the average public school student. There are now so many homeschoolers around the country that virtually all of them are part of some kind of homeschool group. Some of these groups have coalesced into homeschool resource centers and operate as often as four or five days a week. Generally, colleges have discovered that homeschoolers make such good students that they welcome them to apply to their schools.

As more and more parents become aware of, and make, these choices, we hope that the traditional system will evolve into one that meets the needs of an increasing number of students. Meanwhile, don't wait for that system to change; take responsibility for your child's education. Find out what your options are and choose what is best for your child.

None of these signs by themselves should be taken as a reason to panic. But if you have noticed several of them, you should certainly explore educational alternatives.

Find a school that works for your child: AERO Member Schools, Schools AERO Helped to Start, and Democratic Schools.

Get the resources you need to help you in making your decision here.