Change of Heart!

Artistic Alternatives to Violence

Program Components:
Change of Heart includes several components which can be used separately or together, in combination. They are:
  • Shows
  • In-School Residencies
  • Staff Development
  • Publications
    Examples of each component are described below.

    Shows:
    The Odyssey: A Journey of the Soul (Grades 6-12)
     The Odyssey is an Assembly Performance, which offers a one-day introduction to the Change of Heart process. It combines professional performing artists performing with 30 or more students selected by the school. Thus 30+ students engage in an intensive drama experience, as they are trained in their roles during the morning. Many more students experience this performance as audience members during the afternoon. Participating teachers receive pre- and post show activities. The show is based on Homer’s epic poem and follows a Joseph Campbell-type approach to myth. Therefore, it deals with themes such as success orientation, overcoming our personal obstacles on our own life journey, and conflict resolution. For more information, click here.

    The Folklore Festival (Grades K-8)
     The Folklore Festival is an Assembly Performance which offers a one-day introduction to the Change of Heart process. It combines professional performing artists performing with 50 students selected by the school. Thus 50 students engage in an intensive theatre experience, as they are trained in their roles during the morning. Many more students experience this performance as audience members during the afternoon. Participating teachers receive pre- and post show activities. The show includes three folktales from different cultures and addresses themes such as conflict resolution, teamwork, and compromise

    In-School Residencies:
     CES residences always include a Change of Heart focus and vary in length and subject matter depending on the choice of focus by the participating school. Residences usually include a culmination, but this may or may not be a performance, depending on the choice of participating school. One artist can do 3 hours of contact time with students during a day. (This might include, for example, four 45 minute classes). Depending on the number of classes to be served, more than one artist may be required

    Culminating Performances:
     CES encourages culminating performances as ways of allowing students to share their thoughts and feelings with others, and of building their self-esteem. When a culminating performance is involved, a residence length will vary depending on the scope of the performance. Alternatives include the following general time frames:
  • Straight residence with no performance (10 days)
  • Residence with culminating performance for another class (15 days)
  • Residence with School Assembly (20 days)
  • Residence with Performance for parents and community (30 days)

    Four types of residence are described below:

    1. The Extended Folklore Residence:
    This residence includes a day of Folklore Festival performances as described in the Show section above. Several types of residence programs may be included, all based on the show:
  • Pre/Post Show Activities: Resident artists facilitate pre-and/or post-show activities. No further culminating activity. (10 days).
  • Literacy: Resident artists engage students in creating and writing their own folktales, based on themes drawn from students’ own concerns. There is no culminating performance, but there is a culminating experience in which student scenes are read aloud. (10 days)
  • Playwrighting and Performance: Continuing the literacy theme, students not only write their own folktales, as in the Literacy option above, but produce and perform them as well. Length varies depending on the scope of production (see Culminating Performances above).

    2. The Extended Odyssey Residence:
    This residence includes a day of Odyssey performances as described in the Show section above. Several types of residence programs may be included, all based on the show:
  • Pre/Post Show Activities: Resident artists facilitate pre-and/or post-show activities. No further culminating activity. (10 days).
  • Literacy: Resident artists engage students in creating and writing their own scenes, based on themes drawn from The Odyssey and the students’ own concerns. There is no culminating performance, but there is a culminating experience in which student scenes are read aloud. (10 days)
  • Playwrighting and Performance: Continuing the literacy theme, students not only write their own folktales, as in the Literacy option above, but produce and perform them as well. Length varies depending on the scope of production (see Culminating Performances above).

    3. Residence with straight Change of Heart focus:
    The artist works with themes coming out of students’ concerns. These could be based on current events of the moment, such as the global war on terrorism, or on experiences of the student in adjusting to the changing circumstances of their own life. The artist’s activities follows the Change of Heart Process, described below. The identification, acknowledgment, expression and communication of feelings is paramount, as is the creation of a supportive, harmonious classroom atmosphere. Unlike the next residence option below (Curriculum Residence), this type of residence is not generally intended to be tied into the academic curriculum. A culminating performance is possible. Alternative structures include:
  • Straight residence with no performance (10 days).
  • Literacy residence in which students engage in Change of Heart activities and then write scenes based on their own thoughts, feelings and concerns (15 days). Scenes are read aloud in class as a culmination. No culminating performance.
  • Residence with improvised culminating performance for another class (15 days)
  • Residence with School Assembly (20 days)
  • Residence with Performance for parents and community (30 days)

    4. The Curriculum Residence:
     Though not all CES residences focus on curriculum, such a focus is actually encouraged. Students may engage in Change of Heart without interrupting their academic pursuits. In this residence, teachers select a curriculum focus. The artist develops arts activities with the teachers to teach the curriculum’s objectives. A Change of Heart focus is integrated, however, and the curriculum is tied into an understanding of feelings and current student concerns. The residence may have a culminating performance. Alternative structures include:
  • Straight curriculum residence with no performance (10 days).
  • Literacy residence in which students write scenes which demonstrate an understanding of the curriculum (15 days). Scenes are read aloud in class. No culminating performance.
  • Residence with improvised culminating performance for another class (15 days)
  • Residence with School Assembly (20 days)
  • Residence with Performance for parents and community (30 days)

    Residences can also be custom-designed. Tell us what you would like and we will design one which meets your specific needs and budget.

    • Staff Development
    CES offers staff development in a variety of formats, available to the school, depending on their scheduling limitations and budget. Timing of the workshops is entirely flexible and can be (and has been) done during school hours, after school, or on weekends.

    Workshops:

    An effective introduction to the hands-on understanding and application of Change of Heart program to a group of up to 30 participants is a CES staff workshop. CES workshops always involve participants in an active learning process.

    CES workshops can be flexible in length, depending on the client’s needs. Traditional time lengths (and possible scenarios) are:

    One and a half hour Introductory Workshop:
  • Participants are engaged in two or three activities they can use immediately with their classes;
  • They discuss the academic validity of the approach taught and its ability to enhance student social skills, group harmony, expression of feelings, and character education;
  • They discuss what other kinds of activities could be used and which other objectives could be addressed by using the same principles.

    3-Hour Overview Workshop:
  • Participants engage in half a dozen or more activities they can use immediately with their own classes;
  • They discuss the academic validity of the approach taught and its ability to enhance student social skills, group harmony, expression of feelings, and character education;
  • They work in groups to create their own activities and lesson plans and accompanying activities following the Learning and Performance Standards;
  • They present their findings to the class.

    Full Day Comprehensive Workshop:
  • Participants engage in half a dozen or more activities they can use immediately with their own classes;
  • They discuss the academic validity of the approach taught and its ability to enhance student social skills, group harmony, expression of feelings, and character education;
  • They work in groups to create their own activities and lesson plans and accompanying activities following the Learning and Performance Standards;
  • They present their findings to the class.
  • Participants also engage in groups in creating /directing a short arts experience and present their finished work of art to the class.

    Two-Day Seminar
  • Participants engage in half a dozen or more activities they can use immediately with their own classes;
  • They discuss the academic validity of the approach taught and its ability to enhance student social skills, group harmony, expression of feelings, and character education;
  • They work in groups to create their own activities and lesson plans and accompanying activities following the Learning and Performance Standards;
  • They present their findings to the class.
  • Participants also engage in groups in creating /directing a short arts experience and present their finished work of art to the class.
  • If Literacy is a chosen academic focus, participants also engage in groups in a script-writing process and present their finished scripts to the class.
  • They engage in various production techniques for turning their scripts into a classroom presentation or even a school play. With available materials and those provided by the workshop facilitators, they produce their scripts.
  • Participants create performances of their scripts. They learn techniques for enhancing student reading and speaking ability through the process of actor coaching.
  • Participants discuss assessment of what their class will have learned.

    When school or district personnel select a CES workshop, they can specify ahead of time a particular academic content focus. They can choose, for example, "social studies" to be the general content area from which workshop applications will be drawn, or "The Causes of the American Revolution" as a more specific subject to be used throughout the workshop. CES has delivered workshops in all different content areas for a variety of developmental levels.

    The Course:
    CES Master Artist Teachers teach 30-hour, 3-credit courses in the Change of Heart. Clients may specify ahead of time an academic focus or even specific academic units from which they want examples drawn. If a school, for instance, has a science focus for the year, but recognizes the need for improved literacy, the playwriting training is perfect for focusing on science themes as content for the scripts. Participants will use part of their class time developing lesson plans for a Prevention unit.

    Publications
    Complete information on the publications below can be found at the CES Bookstore:

    Teachers Manuals:
  • Teaching Curriculum Through the Arts
  • Producing the School Play
    Curriculum Guides:
  • Life in Ancient Greece: Mythology
  • Exploring Columbus: A Multicultural Perspective
  • Children of the Sun: The Culture of Mexico
  • The Folklore Festival: A Multicultural Framework
    Plays:
  • Eight Plays for a New Century (a collection)
  • Over 30 individual play scripts

    • Read more:
  • Philosophy of Change of Heart
  • Sample classroom activities
  • Five Steps in the Change of Heart Process

    • For further information on Change of Heart (Artistic Alternatives to Violence), please contact:
    CES-East, 1364 E. 92nd St, Suite 103, Brooklyn, NY 11236;
    or call (347) 702-7587; or
    fax (347) 702-7589; or
    CES-West, P.O. Box 60698, Boulder City, NV 89006
    or call (702) 293-6363
    or e-mail programs@creativeeducationalsystems.com .