NS Consortium Professional Development
On Friday, March 10th, Express Yourself hosted a professional development workshop for the faculty and staff of the Northshore Education Consortium. A wide variety of professionals including teachers, counselors, and paraprofessionals attended the workshop where they experienced the Express Yourself arts immersion model. Express Yourself staff led participants in a wide range of arts activities offered to youth in the studio. They learned how creative arts unlock tools for self-expression, creates community and deepen connections. Beginning with group warmups, they then went into kinesthetic games which engage coordination and collaboration between group members. Participants then created an art project that had been developed specifically for youth exploring the theme of SOUL for our grand performance at the Boch Center – Wang Theater. The project was both expressive and success-oriented, designed to engage a wide range of abilities and ages. The workshop ended with a special African drumming session led by master drummer Joh Camara. Participants all left the workshop with a greater sense of SOUL and how the arts relate to education and development and how these tools can be implemented in their classrooms.