Elana Shyong

Play is Power!

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Elana Shyong
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β€œπ‘»π’‰π’† π‘«π’“π’‚π’Žπ’‚ 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 π’˜π’‚π’” 𝒂𝒏 π’‚π’Žπ’‚π’›π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’†π’™π’‘π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’π’„π’†. 𝑾𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 π’π’π’π’š π’˜π’π’“π’Œπ’Šπ’π’ˆ π’•π’†π’„π’‰π’π’Šπ’’π’–π’†π’”, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 π’Žπ’π’”π’• π’Šπ’Žπ’‘π’π’“π’•π’‚π’π’•π’π’š π’˜π’† 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔. 𝑢𝒖𝒓 π’•π’“π’‚π’Šπ’π’†π’“ 𝑬𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒂 π’Šπ’” 𝒂 π’ˆπ’π’π’… 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’˜π’‰π’ 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 π’–π’π’‡π’π’“π’ˆπ’†π’•π’•π’‚π’ƒπ’π’† π’†π’™π’‘π’†π’“π’Šπ’†π’π’„π’†π’”.” – Lily, SEN Teacher, Participant

Such lovely feedback to finish up my week. I just wrapped up a 5-day Drama in Education training with a group of passionate educators all from different SEN (Special Educational Needs) schools in Romania πŸ‡·πŸ‡΄, finishing the month on a high!

As a trainer that delivers a wide variety of courses about topics like AI to effective communication, it’s not often that I get to deliver one of my favorites: drama in education courses. When I do, it’s always a delight. Drama isn’t just performance = it’s a powerful tool for self-expression, social connection, emotional literacy, and change. Being able to evoke that “aha!” moment where my participants see that too is truly a privilege.

At the start, many of the participants were hesitant… how can drama actually contribute to learning? That’s a common perspective for those that haven’t experienced play as a means to learn themselves. Then, we played.

And played.
And played.
And played!

We explored:

🎲 Games as a way to spark collaborative joy in the class
🧠 Role play work for perspective-taking
πŸŽ‰ Silliness as a powerful tool to develop self confidence
πŸ’¬ Theatre for personal storytelling

By the end? They were buzzing with ideas – eager to bring more play, presence, and joy into their classrooms, and just as important, in themselves. πŸŒ€πŸŽ­

Laughter, reflection, movement, imagination.
That’s where the magic is. ✨
Feeling proud, grateful, and inspired.

Thank you to this brilliant group of educators for showing up with such heart, openness to explore, and willingness to grow. πŸ’›

#DramaInEducation #TeacherTraining #InclusiveEducation #ArtsInSchools #ProfessionalDevelopment #PlayIsPower