The Theatre Arts and Care Ethics

In this current political climate, which narrowly defines educational quality by test scores, educators may overlook the importance of building relationships in which students can learn to care and become agents for social justice. Caring for one another and caring about ideas is all the more important now, as students inherit a world faced with local and global political and social crises. This case study chronicles one school's attempt to teach students to care about each other despite differences through an all-school theatre-arts program. The data include teacher and student interviews, discussion groups, surveys, and students' written work concerning a play about the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. These data show that (1) the performance aspect necessitated interdependence, fostering relationships; (2) an experience of injustice led to descriptions that reflect learning to care beyond students' individual cultural contexts, arguably a foundation for social justice; and (3) the theatre experience inspired connections between the students and historical figures. These connections fostered students' caring about historical ideas and stories told in the play. While we cannot be certain of lasting palpable changes, the role theatre appears to play in opening possibilities for care is particularly interesting.