Apart from the very few, many children hate that time of the year when they have to put on costumes, memorize a few lines, go on stage and act out a character.
Apart from the very few, many children hate that time of the year when they have to put on costumes, memorize a few lines, go on stage and act out a character. While their kids dread the event, majority of parents see school plays as perfect occasions to whip out the video camera and capture their kids' cute moments on stage.
However, this goes beyond putting on costumes and silly make-up. Participating in stage plays actually has far-reaching benefits in the development of children. This is exactly why many coed summer camps include theater arts in their program.
Listed below are some of the top reasons why parents should encourage their children to participate.
Better Academic Performance
A common knee-jerk reaction among parents when their child decides to participate in theater arts is the possibility of academic setback. With time spent on rehearsals, parents fear that they will take away precious study hours from their kids. However, the effect of theater on the academic performance of children is the exact opposite of what parents are afraid of.
According to a study conducted by UCLA, students who are involved in the performing arts tend to perform better academically. In a separate research by The College Board, incoming university students who are active in the theater arts score 100 points higher in their SAT compared to other students. They have more advanced reading comprehension and mathematical skills.
If you want to gauge whether your kid will improve academically through through this activity, sending him or her to an overnight summer camp with a good dramatic arts program is a good way to go about it.
Theater Teaches Children Empathy
In her article published in the Huffington Post, dramatist and theater essayist Laura Gunderson said that there is a lack of empathy in today's world. Theater, on the other hand, is one of the most intense exercises in empathy. When children take on roles, they have to put themselves in another character's shoes and that's exactly what empathy is. They don't only empathize with their own character, they also empathize with the other characters in the play.
According to clinical psychologists, empathy plays a crucial role in a child's development because it's vital in how he or she relates to others. The sooner a kid learns empathy, the more adept he or she can be in interacting and socializing with other children.
Theater Teaches Children to Rise from Defeat
Your kid won't always get the part that he or she wants. There will be times that he will forget a line during a show. During rehearsals, he or she needs to endure constructive criticism from the director. Your child won't always get the loudest applause during curtain call.
As a parent, you would naturally want to protect your child from experiencing these defeats, but they will experience failures sooner or later. Through theater, they learn to rise up and strive to make themselves better.
As you can see, the benefits that theater can bring your child are far more significant than you initially thought.
If you're looking for a venue that can spark your child's interest in the performing arts outside of his or her school, there are a number of coed summer camps that have theater in their program. The dramatics art program at Camp Walt Whitman involves professional theater coaches to ensure every kid's talent is honed to its fullest potential.
Source :
EzineArticlesPlease rate this link article.
You must be logged in to be able to rate an article.
No user reviews have yet been made or approved for this article.
You must be logged in to be able to leave a comment.