Profiling Ben Stoner: An essay about art cuts from schools
Ben Stoner directing
As the new
school year begins, many thoughts run through Ben Stoner’s mind. As a high
school English teacher, he knows there are lots of papers to be graded,
speeches to assess, and novels to interpret. He has a full year ahead of him in the
academic world, but there’s another part of his job that will consume even more
of his time. But it isn’t a hassle or a burden. It’s his passion. Ben Stoner
serves as the head of the drama department at Crystal Lake South high school.
Throughout the school year he directs shows and organizes dramatic events. He
is a key reason that the theater program at South is still able to thrive. Many
schools, though, are not fortunate enough to have theatre and arts, an
extremely important aspect of education, at their fingertips.
Theater has been a significant part of Mr.
Stoner’s life since he first found his way into the theater community during
his junior year of high school. “I suppose the first time I did a play, my
junior year in high school, was the first time I ever really connected with any
community of people.” He explained that his horizons had been broadened and he
felt welcome somewhere. “I had actively collaborated on a project that I was
proud of and was recognized as worthy by an audience of my peers and
adults. It was the first time in my life
that I ever felt really accomplished, but I was still in a pretty tiny pond.”
Now that he felt like he belonged somewhere he was able to explore it further.
He continued theater his senior year, “I attended the high school theatre
festival, I realized just how large and powerful this community is. I felt empowered as someone who once had
thought that he was alone (with the 12-15 other nerds like him at his school),
only to find that there were literally thousands just like me in our state
alone!” Theater consistently serves as a place of comfort for many people who
seem to be outcasts. The American Alliance of Theatre & Education states
that “the act of performing can help students and youth recognize their
potential for success and improve their confidence.” In the end, isn’t this the
most important thing?
Third graders put on school play
The theater explores many different
aspects of the world and also helps students develop critical skills that can
applied in any workforce. “Creativity.
Expression. Collaboration,” Mr.
Stoner shared when asked about the importance of theater. These are three key
components in becoming a well-rounded person and valuable employee. “In what
other industry do people have to justify the poor choices of a criminal or a
derelict (i.e. If I'm playing the wicked witch, I HAVE to be able to defend her
actions)? I mean, lawyers have to, but
their motives are usually far different (i.e. $$$).”
The theater has only proved to
enhance students’ learning capacity, involvement and success in academics and
even after graduation. According the American Alliance for Theatre &
Education, students involved in drama performance scored an average of 65.5
points higher on the verbal component and 35.5 points higher in the math
component of the SAT. There is no reason that money should be given to math,
science or sports programs over theater programs, as they clearly have benefits
as well. “My theatre students are more connected to their school, period. This manifests in many different ways in different
kids, but they all WANT to be here, unlike many of their peers. They care about
their school, their facilities, their teachers, and their reputation. I have found, with no absolute evidence to
back it up, that my best actors tend to be some of the smartest people I have
ever met,” Mr. Stoner explained. “They
have a way of approaching conflicts and issues critically and analytically,
which is a pretty good model for life!”
Lexis Danca as Janet Van De Graaff in Ben Stoner's production of The Drowsy Chaperone
Not only can theater affect the lives
of the actors, but the lives of the audience. Mr. Stoner enthused, “I have seen
people's lives changed (including my own) as the result of a play. Two hours will not affect two people in the
same way, and the change may not be permanent, but that experience can leave
one's perspective different than it began.”
James Thurber once said,
"Theatre is the primary evidence of a nation's culture." Theater is a
barometer for our world. It educates us on happenings in the world around us
and broadens the horizons of people who never could have thought that they’d
even consider certain abstract ideas that are portrayed on stage. “I cannot
tell you the many times that I have heard someone say that they cannot believe
what they just experienced in a theatre,” Mr. Stoner shared. The theater is not
afraid to hit touchy subjects or to offend if it means enlightening the
audience. “It helps us makes sense of why people do the things they do,” Mr.
Stoner explained.
Mr. Stoner feels strongly that more
people should be exposed to theater and theater program cuts are definitely the
last thing in his interest. “I actually became a teacher for this very
reason. I understand that very few of my
students are going to pursue the performing arts professionally. More get involved because, more or less, they
enjoy theatre.” Mr. Stoner is concerned about his students feeling successful
just as any good educator should be. Theater gives them that chance, just as he
was given that chance in high school to show his work and be proud of the
audience’s feedback. “The more people
see theatre, the more people become aware of its potential impact and reach.”
A common argument behind cutting arts
programs is that in an “educational system strapped for money and ruled by
standardized tests, the arts can seem like a needless extravagance,” (The
Boston Globe.) However, as mentioned, there are clear benefits of a theater
education. Theater education enhances attendance, self-esteem, reading
comprehension, leadership skills, communication, acceptance, respect, concentration
and more. This was observed by Louis Catron in 1958 and is touched on further
in his article What Theatre Majors Learn.
Mr. Stoner has a clear opinion on
arts discrimination. “Well, let's face it, test scores aren't everything,
despite what legislators and common folk may believe. These arts programs are the only way some of
our students learn about themselves and who they are, if nothing else. When push comes to shove, we all see the
value of the "core" subjects.
Unfortunately, our American society sometimes sees art as unnecessary or
expendable.”
Actresses wait backstage at Millikin University for Cinderella
Education includes a lot of
data-driven decision making. This is evidently not the most effective way to
look at things in the longs run. For example, if schools only look at math
scores and realize they have dropped, they will add more math courses and cut
art and music programs. They choose to take the easy way out instead of really
doing research and seeing that theater does in fact help math, along with every
other academic topic, plus important life skills.
“I mean, the most important test
score among Illinois teenagers is the ACT: English, Math, Science,
Reading. Nowhere on that test is
communication measured, creativity measured, compassion measured, artistic
expression measured, or aggression measured, for that matter. We are underserving our young people into
believing that test scores are more important to determining their value and
potential than actual HUMAN traits,” Mr. Stoner stated.
From the time we are young, it is
driven into our minds that standardized testing is important, it will be what
gets us to where we need to be in the future. In only teaching this mindset,
students lose focus on the beauty of life and learn to only look at life
through a black and white lens. “These tests help assess students' abilities to
find the "right answers," but how often in real life is right and
wrong as easy a choice as "is the answer A or C?" It is a shame, but we've all bought into this
culture, and it doesn't seem to be going away any time soon.”
Mr. Stoner has dedicated a part of
his life to ensuring that students are given the chance to grow in the arts. He
saw how it affected him for the better, and has experienced first-hand how it
affects his own students. “It is a part of me.
I cannot imagine my life without an outlet for working with others in
the way that theatre lets me. I suppose
that one day I'll come to terms with retirement and whether or not I'll
continue to direct or at what level. I
expect that I will always be a patron of the arts, whether or not I am a
practicing artist.” Theater changed Ben Stoner’s life and now, as an educator, he
is determined to allow his own students to benefit from the great things that
he knows theater has to offer.
Works Cited
Catron,
Louis. "What Theatre Majors Learn - Millikin Quarterly." What
Theatre Majors Learn - Millikin Quarterly. Millikin University, 10 Oct.
2011. Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.millikin.edu/alumni/stayconnected/quarterly/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?ID=28>.
"The
Effects of Theatre Education - American Alliance for Theatre and Education
(AATE)." American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE). N.p.,
n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2012. <http://www.aate.com/?page=effects>.
Winner, Ellen, and Lois
Hetland. "Art for Our Sake." Boston News. N.p., 2 Sept. 2007.
Web. 11 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/09/02/art_for_our_sake/?page=full>.
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