The following article was selected from the Internet Edition of the Chicago Tribune. To visit the site, point your browser to http://chicagotribune.com/. ----------- Chicago Tribune Article Forwarding---------------- Article forwarded by: Cayata Dixon Return e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Article URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/metro/chicago/printedition/article/0,2669,SAV-0103290202,FF.html ---Forwarded article---------------- TEACHERS GET CHUCKLE AND LESSON By Jon Anderson First up in the battle against school-room torpor was Zena, introduced to the crowd as "Warrior Princess--and Teacher." Forged in "the heat of daily academic battle," she wore leather, carried a sword and knew how to wield it. Then came Phil Jack-Zen, a basketball coach with a motivational message for the 350 teachers and administrators in the audience. For those who wanted more, "Rev. Jesse" led the hall in a chant. "I am somebody! I teach!" they shouted, following his urgent commands. So it went on a recent weekday morning at Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, where south suburban school personnel gathered for an Institute Day. Such orientations, set aside as a time for staffers to assess late-breaking pedagogical thinking, are often notoriously dreary. That's where Wavelength comes in. Like Bob Hope pepping up troops during tours of duty overseas, members of the Chicago-based comedy troupe have made it their business to amuse another group that often suffers from battle fatigue: teachers. "What makes us human is humor. When we see humor in ourselves, we get a better perspective on what we do in our lives," noted Ken Reczkiewicz, assistant superintendent of Community High School District 218, explaining why he invited Wavelength to present its current musical-comedy revue. At Eisenhower, the five-member troupe hit the stage running, wearing baseball caps with the logo "THINKT." That, they explained, moving quickly into the jargon of such events, stands for "Teachers High on Integrating New Knowledge and Technology." "Interactive holograms? I deal with them every day," one actor-teacher said. "Only they're called sophomores." But the hourlong show was not all gags. There were poignant moments dealing with stress, burnout and such modern teaching challenges as conflict resolution, discipline, separation of church and state, multicultural sensitivity and faculty parking-lot assignments. In a skit called "Greco-Roman PTA," a concerned parent named Plato wants more funding for the arts. Students are reminded that "all slingshots must be checked at the portcullis." Then there is the issue of holding "a moment of silence for all our deities"--opposed and supported by roughly equal numbers of parents. Wavelength was founded in 1980 by Jim Winter, a former high school English teacher, "after sitting through one too many boring in-service days," he said. Since then, Winter, a graduate of the Players Workshop of Second City, has led his players before 1,100 meetings and 900,000 educators, "in most of the intelligent cities of the world." This year, the troupe has almost 100 gigs, from Spokane, Wash., to Orlando, a schedule bolstered by what one review called "a lack of cynicism and an ability to articulate, in very funny ways, an understanding of the pressures that educators face from politicians, parents, the media and the community." -- This is the CPS Science Teacher List. To unsubscribe, send a message to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For more information: <http://home.sprintmail.com/~mikelach/subscribe.html>. To search the archives: <http://www.mail-archive.com/science%40lists.csi.cps.k12.il.us/>
