My Process & Values
I am tenacious in my ability to see learning opportunities everywhere. I am often seeking numbers of business people, artists, theater groups when I see learning opportunities. Then, I store them away for a later date to develop a program. I am also the same with materials and maximize learning and create rigorous learning experiences. My concerns, for the world and for justice, influence my teaching. I feel that it is important that all students feel safe; understand the purpose and value of what it is being taught to them; understand how they can grow up to be respectful, tolerant caring leaders of their community. It is my job to create value and joy in what is being taught.
Lesson Planning
It's a road map that helps you see the bigger picture, and like all journeys, it may take different twists and turns. I plan with enough structure that goalposts are met, but with the flexibility to differentiate, make changes as I go when. needed. This is documented in my daily record/journal.
Timely, inspiring feedback
I try to find the beauty and strengths in all of my students' work. I take it from there. Then I give tangible specific feedback with appropriate links for self-review or suggestions.
Displays
I see displays as crucial in creating a literate learning environment, It is the second teacher in the room and a resource to visit if materials have been missed. It is a record to management and parents of my evidence of learning and it caters to several key needs of the teenage brain - peers, making meaning, and interlinking learning. It is a dialogue between the creator of the work and the viewer, and this inspires students to do better. I show students that I value their work, and by doing so, help them to see the value and meaning in their work.
Varied learning Activities
From newspaper theater to games, debates, scaffolded and mediated steps towards working individually. Variety is good for me; variety is good for the students. There are opportunities for reflection and chances to deepen awareness between Skills, Knowledge and Understanding.
Kerensa Johnston Dewantoro
More about Kerensa
If you want to know more about who I am and what I do outside of class, it is easy. A simple Google search for Kerensa Johnston or Kerensa Dewantoro (my husband's name used for stage) will produce several pages, newspaper articles, and interviews. I have been in national newspapers and tv connected to my work in theater and my work in my community.
There many parts to who I am. I am a playwright, director, and dancer of traditional theater. I have represented Indonesia at several international events both as a performer, a writer, and a speaker. This includes giving an address on Islam and the arts at the 2018 World Conference of Thought and Civilization and performing there. I also wrote, directed, and performed my play ”Jengkol: Jangan Jengkel” a play exploring sensitive issues within Islam peculiar to Indonesia at the world’s first Islamic Theater Festiva 2019 in Pekanbaru, Indonesia. In 2012 I presented my work "Beritahu Laura" at the Women’s Playwrights Conference in Sweden 2012. I have organized international collaborations with my group DarahRouge and Centre for Australasian Theater(CfAT). I am an exponent of traditional Balinese mask dance and contemporary mask work. I also have experience in West Sumatran Randai and Indian Dance.
I have been running an inclusive drama club out of Le Seminyak Café for the last 4 years. And on top of all this have maintained an active performance life that has been made up of tours, participation in Indonesian theater festivals, workshops at university campuses all over the country, and volunteer drama teaching. Since lockdown, I have focused on online performance work and am an active member of the Metamorphosize online community.
I am also strong at devising work with communities and this includes “Suara Hati” devised in Bali with Jayua Prana a visual artist living with Osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease) discussing living with this disease; “Cooking and Murder” with texts developed during a women’s writing workshop; “Maksudnya Apa? What do you mean?” created through a devised process at Universitas Islam Negri Gunung Jati - exploring cross-cultural misunderstandings; and "Voices of Children" created with the children of DarahRouge Drama Club and exploring what it is like to be a refugee.