ABSTRACT
In this piece of writing, I respond to Anon's reflections on her/his experiences of being taught Drama in a British high school, recently published in this journal (see Anon. 2017. ‘“Where the wild things are” – an insider's experience of the contemporary drama classroom’, RIDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 22:2, 216–219). As a Drama teacher working in UK education for 13 years, I empathised with the teacher in Anon's account of the drama classroom. In order to provide a contextualisation of UK arts education that form the broader landscape of Anon's account, I reflect on the pressures of drama teaching in the contemporary classroom partly created by the UK government's marginalisation of arts subjects in schools.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Laura Hennessy is a Secondary School Drama teacher with over 13 years experience in both comprehensive and grammar school education in the UK. She also has six years experience of leading a successful secondary school Drama department.
Notes
1. GSCEs are qualifications taken primarily at the end of secondary school education (when 15–16 years old).
2. See www.baccforthefuture.com [Accessed October 10, 2017].
3. See www.gov.uk/government/consultations/gcse-as-and-a-level-reform-regulations-for-dramadrama-and-theatre [Accessed October 10, 2017].