Coombs,+Natalie

My name is Natalie Coombs,



I am really happy to be able to begin this course as I have now completed my 690 paper ! This course interests me and I am sure I will learn alot from participating.

In term time in I am the Performing Arts primary specialist teacher at the American International School of Lusaka, in Zambia. I have lived in Zambia for 5 years and have been teaching at AISL for two years. I love my job!

I hope this course will help me to:

1. To find and apply practical strategies to help resolve conflicts in both my professional and personal realms. 2. Understand the causes of conflicts at both a micro and also a more global level. 3.To help foster a peacable school/classroom environment. 4. To develop interpersonal relations and conflict resolution skills of children in my classroom. 5. To further explore how teachers play a role in increasing the possibility of a peaceful future for the children we teach. Through the development of conflict resolution skills, peacable attitudes, tolerance and open mindedness. How do we help students to embody the skills and principles of conflict resolution?

I think this course should look at conflict and determine what it is! To identify the different aspects of conflicts and find constructive ways to handle and resolve conflict. As well as discover the possibility of positive and creative outcomes of conflict situations. Looking at ways to implement conflict resolution practices and foster peaceable attitudes among our students and also our professional team.

__**ASSIGNMENT # 2**__ As I begin to investigate the role of Nature or nurture in American History X, I want to look more closely at the concepts of racism and Nature or Nurture and how they connect. There seems to be debate whether racism is predetermined by nature. Human instinct, you are born with it, competition, protection, fear of what is different. Or it is taught? Do our parents, friends, relatives, teachers, our society at large nurture racist tendencies? Experiments have been done and some conclusions have been drawn, but no one really knows where it originates from. Has there has always been racism amongst humans ? With this focus, looking around me I see traces of racism everywhere, sometimes covert and lurking, and other times stark and obtrusive. Ideas, attitudes and actions. No one can really trace the root of it all, it's a part of our collective history, but understanding it and knowing the cause may help us tackle racism, and hopefully eliminate it. In American History X, I see combinations of both nature and nurture as described above present in the storyline. Derek and Danny are products of their situation and society, where economic and racial divides exist. As the community he is brought up in "Venice Beach" changes with immigration and social shifts his Father view the changes with suspicion and division, a conversation around the dinner table plants a racist seed in Derek mind, his father challenges Derek innocent outlook and shares his own racial attitude, instructing Derek to question his black teacher. When their father is shot dead, fighting a fire in a African American community, the grief and anger become a catalyst for Derek passionate commitment to a Neo-Nazi white supremacist group. Young people are fed fascist sentiment by Cameron a lone white man, a fanatic who uses neo-nazi views to further divide and agitate the racial divides in his community. Cameron is very good at latching on to young people's fearful and competitive nature and exploiting that to facilitate his own hate campaign. Derek and Danny's relationship with Cameron is a good example of both nature and nature playing a role in a situation. Cameron is able to manipulate and control the natural human instincts of fear and competition in another person, especially Derek who is vulnerable, angry and impressionable. With no Father in Derek's life, Cameron is able to be the male role model and nurture xenophobic attitudes and ideas of hate and revenge. Derek is able to further nurture racist attitudes in other young people, he influences and uses them to execute Cameron's war on anyone with a different ethnic origin. Derek does have people with a positive outlook in his life, his mother, sister and his other teacher have a more liberal balanced view. Mr Sweeny, the African American principle at the school is a male role model that battles against the negative energies within his life, his school and his society, an educated and illuminated man with a vision of tolerance and unity. His everyday work with his students depicts his inner ideals he tries to nurture his students with a balanced eduction. In Derek's life there were people who had the potential to nurture a positive outlook but he choose not to listen. The school as an institution is a microcosm of the gang culture in the macrocosm of Venice beach, the warfare happening on the streets trickles down into the school and "white and black" conflict and divide are evident there too. Its seems like there is no escape for the young people caught up in the turmoil of racial conflict. When Derek kills an African American guy, he goes to prison, this was the challenge that forced him to change. The people who he had hated, Sweeny, his books and a black guy he meets are the ones who help him see the truth, and change. This demonstrates to me that through exposure to different people, different situations and perspectives and the positive nurturing of ideas and attitudes people can change their nature of fear and competition. Throughout the story Danny, Dereks brother and his family also suffer greatly amidst the conflict and hatred that Derek cultivates. Ultimately we see that the ones we love are often afflicted by our actions and attitudes. In reflection I see that children are our future, they are born so innocent, they need to grow up with pride for their individual cultures plus a shared identity where they are treated as, and see themselves as, equal. As Nelson Mandela said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." As teachers we are responsible for nurturing the minds of young people with positive, open-minded attitudes and ideas. This quote by **Zita Holbourne** sums it up for me " Nobody is born racist. It's a disease - the longer you leave it, the more it spreads, but if you cut it out when the first signs emerge you have a better chance of curing it.

__**ASSIGNMENT # 3**__ a. A peaceable school would be a place where people are treated as equal. Community members demonstrate tolerance and respect for others. We celebrate our differences and learn from others with an open mind. A peaceable school is a safe place, a place where we are free to learn and to grow. Members of this community are responsible and principled and able to work together. In order to build a peaceable community, members need to understand conflict and how to resolve it in a peaceable way. Cooperative and inter-dependent learning helps communities of learners to work collaboratively for the good of all. A peaceable school will have community members who : Belong, share, and cooperate with others. Achieve, accomplish, are recognized and respected. Are free to make choices. Have fun, laugh and play. Respectful communication would be included in a peaceable school. Through communicating and modeling respectful communication, a teacher can reason with and support ( not domination or punishment) students as they build a community which agree's on and demonstrates the expected behaviors. In a peaceable school we would hear teachers and student mediating, talking about feelings and thoughts, negotiating and group problem solving. The school would only tolerate respectful and principled behavior. Dis-respect, bullying, racism and violence would not be tolerated. The rules of a peaceable school would be : Respect yourself, Respect others and Respect the school. All members of a peaceable school are expected to be tolerant and respectful of others. Teachers in a peaceable school transfer the responsibility of appropriate behavior to the students. Discipline is based on the logical consequences and responsibility is assumed by the student.

As a specialist teacher of performing arts in an international primary school, I work with many different classes throughout the day. When the students arrive they are usually fully charged and excited. When Hank arrives at my classroom he will find students lined up outside of my door, they are usually full of energy and ready to expend some of that in my class. We wait until everybody is quiet and facing Ms Natalie and then I greet the students and invited them in. My classroom is a big empty space, perfect for children who like to bounce off the walls. We have agreed that the best way to make the most of our time with Ms Natalie is to come in and sit in our own personal space around the edge of the big carpet. We try to sit quietly, so we can greet each other again and listen to/agree on the plan for the lesson. This routine can take some practice as it's all just so exciting! And at times we may have to try again! On a board in the classroom we have a respect ribbons for each class. There are twelve ribbons, one for each class I teach. Each ribbon is a different color with the class's name. When the class demonstrates consistent respectful behavior throughout our time together they get a card pinned to their ribbon. When the class gain ten cards they receive a whole lesson to play our favorite drama or music games. They need to work as a team in order to be given a card, if a class members name is written on the board and is not removed through the lesson the whole class is affected. Each member of the group has to assume responsibility for the whole. Generally in performing arts students are required to work together in various sized groups. We collaborate in order to create. We listen and build on each others ideas, we work together, compromise, take risks and try new ideas with an open mind. In performing arts we share our creative work with our peers, we perform for our classmates and receive constructive feedback in a supportive and respectful climate. At times we experience conflict when working in a group, we try to negotiate and compromise so that we make it work. Students know that spending their time shrouded in conflict will not get them the results they need. The collaborative skills gained in performing arts are transferable, students are able to take these skills with them to any other context they find in school and in life outside of school. Listening, negotiating, compromising and cooperation, contribute to a peaceable school environment. As an IBO school we are closely connected to the PYP learner profile. In performing arts I utilize the profile qualities and attitudes in order to define the behaviors that are needed in order to be a great collaborator in performing arts and elsewhere. The are posted up on the board and as a class we refer to them, in one of the Grade 1 units we create mini-plays around the PYP profile, what does it look like to be tolerant? or caring? This unit helps students fuse word with meaning and action. In performing arts we work towards an end result; the performance! But we know the real learning is in the process.
 * 1) **Post Journal Entry #3**

__**ASSIGNMENT#4**__


 * **Q** || **T** || **F** ||
 * 1. The rate of serious violent crime (Homicide, Rape, Robbery & Aggravated Assault) in the United States for the last 30 years has been fairly constant || l || llll ||
 * 2.Even though the population of the U.S. has increased from 200 to 300 million, fewer people are arrested for violent crimes in the United States now than 30 years ago. ||  || llll ||
 * 3 Proportionately fewer violent crimes are solved today than 30 years ago. ||  || llll ||
 * 4.The United States is in a period of extreme violence. || lll || ll ||
 * 5.The homicide rate in the western world has been steadily decreasing || ll || lll ||

From reading articles on the decrease of homicide violence I see that the rate has definitely decreased in the last 800 years. Eisner estimates that "about 100 in 100,000 people were murdered during the Middle Ages in Europe, a figure that has fallen to around 1 in 100,000 today". I believe this decrease is due to the increase in better governments, laws, and courts. I also think people are more educated and exposed, more prosperity, health, trade and gender equality. Religion plays its part it teaching moral values and people have become more able to control violent impulses. When I took the Violence Perception Quiz, I overestimated the violence rate in the US, I think this is because the media portrays the US to be constantly experiencing high levels of gun crime. Most of the people I quizzed agreed that violence in the US had not been constant, all but one agreed Q1 was false. Three out of five of us thought the US is in a period of extreme violence. More of us thought the rate of violence was increasing. It was interesting to see that most of us had a pre-conceived notion that the US is a highly violent country. And after now seeing the research I can see that although the rate of homicide is higher in the US than most other countries (apart from Russia!) the rates are decreasing and that the rates are very different from state to state. It was interesting to see that Europe have much more data on homicides than the US and can trace the rates back to the Middle Ages. Research shows many murders were committed in rural areas at that time. Although the research in the US does not reach that far back, it was interesting to read that in 1890 when New York city had "as many Germans as Hamburg, twice as many as Irish than Dublin and two and a half times as many Jews as Warsaw" in the lower east side which had the highest residential density in the history of mankind there were few homicides recorded, and the violence fell during this era! ([|__http://www.hfg.org/hfg_review/4/adler-gallant-3.htm__]). I think that myself and my colleagues made assumptions based on the media's portrayal of the US. Often we take the media's reports on board without truly questioning and searching for the truth. I am surprisingly interested in this subject area, as I now think differently, by reading the historical research and finding alternative perspectives we can find the truth in situations and are better equipped to be be able to deal with the real issues. There are many myths that can be debunked with genuine research. By analyzing the historical research we see the bigger picture and find clues for resolution. For example, historians have really focused considerable attention on the relationship between race and violence, and they have found that the gap between African-American and white homicide rates has fluctuated dramatically over the course of the last century. Understanding what conditions accompanied the narrowing of this gap should be of great interest to policy makers grappling with modern inner-city violence. //(Roger Lane. 1986. Roots of Violence in Black Philadelphia. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; Eric H. Monkkonen. 1995. Racial factors in New York City homicides, 1800-1874. In Darnell F. Hawkins (ed.) Ethnicity, Race, and Crime. Albany: State University of New York Press. 99-120.)// Making a connection between racism, violence and this lesson I can see that if we as humanity took the time to actually find and read the research, debunk the myths, question the media and look at a variety of perspectives we would be less inclined to make uniformed judgements. I think that Monkkonen's research has helped me to appriciate the vital role of historical research, it makes me wonder how and why he choose to focus his life's work researching this particular subject area!

__**ASSIGNMENT #5**__ **Amygdala** The amygdala (Latin, corpus amygdaloideum) is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe. Shown to play a key role in the processing of emotions, the amygdala forms part of the limbic system. In humans and other animals, this subcortical brain structure is linked to both fear responses and pleasure. Its size is positively correlated with aggressive behavior across species. Conditions such as anxiety, autism, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias are suspected of being linked to abnormal functioning of the amygdala, owing to damage, developmental problems, or neurotransmitter imbalance. An amygdala hijack exhibits three signs: strong emotional reaction, sudden onset, and post-episode realization if the reaction was inappropriate. When the amygdala perceives a threat, it can lead that person to react irrationally and destructively. From the [|__thalamus__], a part of the stimulus goes directly to the [|__amygdala__] while another part is sent to the [|__neocortex__] or "thinking brain". If the amygdala perceives a match to the [|__stimulus__], i.e., if the record of experiences in the hippocampus tells the amygdala that it is a [|__fight, flight or freeze situation__], then the amygdala triggers the HPA (hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal) axis and hijacks the rational brain.

I once experienced a large group of men being "Highjacked" by their amygdala. It was quite a frightening experience, but I feel that the excitement of it all also triggered my amygdala and I found myself involved in the chaos. I was driving with my partner in a part of the city Lusaka, Zambia. Local people call these areas the "Komboni" or the "ghetto" the less privileged areas of town, settlements are largely unplanned, have poor sanitation and high numbers of local Zambians living very close to the poverty line. You don't often see white people or "Muzungu's" as we are refereed to in local language walking down the street. Apart for me of course as my partners family live in a "Komboni"called Mtendere. Anyway thats the background on this particular highjacked amygdala experience. There were a few guys fixing a particularly bad part of one of the roads, they were filling the potholes with rubble and dirt and charging people a fee who were driving down that road. The cars were driving slowly due to the condition of the road allowing the guys to stand in front of the car, and causing them to stop, then the guys demanded payment for their hard work and initiative! We paid and so so did the cars that followed us, until one motorist decided he was not going to play the game, he refused to stop, accelerated and drove straight into one of the guys fixing the road. The guy lay in the road screaming with a leg that looked badly broken. Chaos erupted and people came out of nowhere. They blockaded his car, took the drivers keys, smashed the windscreen and started to beat him. A large crowd gathered and we parked and got out of the car to get a closer look! To our surprise the guy who had been hit, was lying on the floor in agony and no-one had paid him any attention, they were far too busy exerting mob justice on the perpetrator. Myself and my husband tried to catch the attention of the guys who were beating the driver to their colleague lying on the floor with a broken leg. "Take him to hospital" we shouted and pointed. It took some time but the focus changed and they came to pick up the man with the broken leg, they put him in the back of the same car, gave the driver the keys, got in the car with them and demanded he drove them all to the hospital! My heart was racing and my legs were like jello, at the time I had no fear, we cut right into the crowd and ran with our instincts. Crazy muzungu! Looking back I can see it was a great example of highjacked amygdala, the guys just reacted immediately with violence, they didn't reason, they had no time for sorry, or an explanation. They reacted and the community around them also became quickly involved. The energy drew everyone in, it triggered the amygdala of those close by and it felt like no-one was in control of that situation. They could have killed the driver. We also raced in, not fearing the danger but just ready to shout and direct and intervene. It felt like something was instinctive and out of my control, I didn't stop to think, I just acted.

I have loved watching and listening to Amy Cuddy, it is fascinating to learn that our body language affects how others see us. Even when I was watching it for the first time I took a moment to think about how I am sitting and saw others checking themselves too. I love that she proved her findings with the saliva test, proving that our posture affects hormones. And that "power posing" -- standing in a posture of confidence, even when we don't feel confident -- can affect testosterone and cortisol levels in the brain! I am going to take action and practice my power posing, it's good to know that by faking it we can become it. I can relate to what she says in my own professional life and appreciate hearing her share her own personal experiences is really reassuring. It will be interesting to see when I apply it when school starts how it will also change the way I see myself.

__**ASSIGNMENT #6**__

**Conflict is**: some form of friction, disagreement, or discord arising within a group when the beliefs or actions of one or more members of the group are either resisted by or unacceptable to one or more members of another group. Conflict can arise between members of the same group, known as [|__intragroup conflict__], or it can occur between members of two or more groups, and involve violence, interpersonal discord, and psychological tension, known as **intergroup conflict**. There is also interpersonal conflict a conflict that inhabits your inner-self. A key player in inter-group relations and conflict is the collective sentiment a person’s own group (in-group) feels toward another group (out-group). These intergroup emotions are usually negative, and range in intensity from feelings of discomfort when interacting with a member of a certain other group to full on hatred for another group and its members. Conflict is rarely seen as constructive; however, in certain contexts (such as competition in sports), moderate levels of conflict can be seen as being mutually beneficial, facilitating understanding, tolerance, learning, and effectiveness. Roy Eidelson and Judy Eidelson (2003) investigated some of the important roles that beliefs may play in triggering or constraining conflict between groups. On the basis of a review of relevant literature, five belief domains stand out as especially noteworthy: Superiority, injustice, vulnerability, distrust and helplessness

__[]__ Conflict resolution is the process of resolving a dispute or a conflict by meeting at least some of each side’s needs and addressing their interests. Knowing how to manage and resolve conflict is essential for having a productive work life, and it is important for community and family life as well. Conflict resolution, or dispute resolution to use another common term, is a relatively new field, emerging after World War II. http://www.pon.harvard.edu/category/daily/conflict-resolution/

__**Journal Entry#6**__

I participated in an amygdala highjack with my partner. We were arguing over a text I found in his phone. I went through stage of just always checking his phone, like I wanted to find a reason to start a fight. Just the fact that I was looking in his phone, sent a huge message to him that I did not trust him and this upset him. The message triggered an emotional reaction from me and I got angry and upset. I took his phone and would not give it back to him. All reason was swept away even though my son was at home and my partners nephew, once we got into this emotional blast, there was not stopping us. Looking back it seems like a blur... I don't remember the words but just the actions. I took his phone and we physically fought and struggled over it. I am half the height of my partner and he is so much stronger and fitter, but I somehow managed to keep the phone and run with it. I got into the car and started the engine, he was chasing me, I locked the doors and drove across the front lawn in the garden, missing trees, the trampoline, the furniture, and the dogs. I was screaming "open the gate" at his nephew, I stopped and saw my partner with a huge brick, he was threatening to throw the brick through he windscreen unless I gave him the phone. I caved in and gave it to him, by this time the gates had been opened and out I drove, hysterical and in tears. No thought for my young son who must have been 4 years old at the time. In reflection, it was just out of control, I know it was our amygdala's that triggered and catapulted us into chaos. Ultimately it was fear that triggered our amygdala into a flight or fight frenzy! There have been other conflicts but they have been when we have both been drinking alcohol, this was at 08:00 in the morning. and we could just not stop, it just spiraled out of control. Making connections now and thinking about the five belief domains (Roy Eidelson and Judy Eidelson 2003) Superiority, injustice, vulnerability, distrust and helplessness. I can see how these played into the conflict scenarios we experience from time to time, I'm European my partner is African, we deal with so many cultural differences, I live in his country and we experience educational and economic disparity. These factors play into any conflict we have. This particular incident was the worst it has got, since then we have really tried to remain in control of our emotions. Until now, without knowing it we have been learning how to teach our neocortex how to inhibit your amygdala. We have to try to just STOP and soothe our own feelings...we know now that nothing gets resolved positively when we are in the midst of an emotional hijacking! It took time for us to be able to look back and say that was a really dangerous experience, we both just knew we did not want to go there again!

I think that once you are aware if what is happening, in terms of amygdala highjacking you are much more able to control your emotions. I think it can be healthy to express your emotions when you are not happy, but in a controlled and constructive way. You need to able to be heard and listen to the other perspective, then you can resolve a conflict. When you are in flight or fright mode you cannot hear anything!

__**ASSIGNMENT#7**__

__I message:__


 * 1) Observable Behavior
 * 2) Consequence of the behavior
 * 3) Feeling

**I message #1**


 * 1) When you post things we have said in personal exchanges on Facebook
 * 2) I see them and so do our friends
 * 3) And this makes me feel exposed and embarrassed.

We talked and solved the disagreement without losing our tempers. The conversation continued and we were able to share stories of our past, together we analyzed why we may do the things we do. What is important and how we can try to work together to ensure our children are brought up in a balanced, safe and loving environment.

**I message #2**


 * 1) When you are patient with your little sister
 * 2) you are teaching her to be kind to others
 * 3) And that make me feel really proud of you

I can see my son light up, he smiles and his body looks confident. He is even sweeter to his sister, he enjoys playing with her and communicates with her in a kind way. Even when she hurts him, he doesn't hit her back. He is able to control his feelings, and understands she is learning. Most of the time we have peace at home.

**I message #3**


 * 1) When you are able to listen to other peoples ideas and build on them
 * 2) You create some good work to share
 * 3) And I feel that you are learning really valuable skills to take with you in life

I see that the student, realizes that what is important is that they have an idea to go with, even if its not their own. They can always include their own ideas by building on those of others, and do what they can to make the collaboration work. When the group succeeds and they are able to work together creatively, they share their work with focus and confidence. They can see that the rest of the class has enjoyed the sharing too.

**Gigi I message #1**

1.Gigi, when you look through my personal things without asking


 * 1) I'm not able to find my things when I want them
 * 2) It makes me feel uncomfortable and exposed

**Gigi I message #2**


 * 1) Gigi, thanks for giving my key back and respecting my privacy
 * 2) It has helped to strengthen our friendship
 * 3) And I now feel like I can trust and value the positive things in our friendship.

__**Journal #7**__

The link would not work!

__**ASSIGNMENT#8**__

**My Action Plan for making**

**Responsible Choices**

**Name:**

**Date:**


 * 1) **The person responsible for my actions and behavior is:**
 * 2) **The poor choice I made was:**
 * 3) **The next time something like this happens I will make a better choice.I will:**
 * 4) **The consequence/restitution for my poor choice is:**

**Student Signature:**

**Teacher Signature:**

**Parent Signature:**

**Parents: Please sign and return this form with your child. Please emphasize this an a learning opportunity, as a chance to make a better plan for the future. Thank you for your support in our positive discipline approach.**

__**Journal Entry #8**__

When this student is asked to work collaboratively in a group, he is unable to focus, he cannot stop rolling around the floor. His behavior disrupts his group and they are unable to work cooperatively and constructively. When other group members are sharing ideas he makes random sounds, making it very difficult for others to listen and concentrate. The contract for making responsible choices will be sent home, in order for his parents to support his learning opportunity. If his teacher and his parents work together and reinforce the plan for making better choices they are more likely to affect positive change. I think that the disadvantages of making the parents aware are that the student may then lose their trust for the teacher, it may damage the relationship, this may effect the students intrinsic motivation.

In the article "Giving Students what they need" I really connected with the writers encouragement for building relationships with his students. As we approach a new term I will continue to spend time learning my 200 students names, playing games to build to group dynamic, interviewing our classmates and sharing stories and having fun. I appreciate that the first few weeks of a new school term really lay the foundation for the rest of the school year. I introduce new drama and music games and play familiar ones to hook the students back in. All the games need strong cooperation and focus and without knowing it the students are learning skills they need to carry them through the rest of the year in performing arts. I think these kinds of activities really encourage intrinsic motivation.The article made we wonder about the "respect ribbons" I have in my classroom and if they are really necessary? When the majority of students are engaged, motivated and respectful, do they need extrinsic motivation? Would it be better to work on the behavior of the individuals who need it, through the behavior contract? Food for thought as I plan the first few weeks of the school year.

__**ASSIGNMENT #9**__

__**JOURNAL ENTRY #9**__

The personality profile test I took gave me results that I agree with. According to the test I am **people person** followed closely by a **creative problem solver.** I can relate to **t**he descriptions of the prototypes for both of these personality types. I enjoy working with people and like to have peace and harmony around me, I don't like conflicts and will often avoid them at the cost of my own needs. I am creative and love to work without restrictions. I love working with children and the arts as we are able to explore possibilities through the arts. I also confer with one of my weaknesses being organization and planning ahead it's something I'm working on! I do get bored easily and like to have a few projects happening at once. I can see why the creative problem solver came up next as I really see myself there too. I like to do things my way and rebel against the status quo, maybe that's why I ended up living in Africa!

It is really reaffirming to me, to find the personality prototypes fit. I look at my life, my job and the potential for creativity and realize or remember that I am in the right place! I just need to start practicing my "power pose" and keep growing in my professional and personal life!

**This is my weebly website!**
 * __ASSIGNMENT #10__**

__**Journal Entry#10**__

Please take a look at my website following the link above. I have really enjoyed this final assignment and have learnt some useful new skills. Thank- you! The weebly website is for my students parents, since we rolled out a department feedback survey, we noticed that parents did not really know what was happening in our classrooms. Although they get to see the final product "The Performance" it is difficult for them to understand the process and the learning that took place in the weeks previous. This weebly website is a great platform for me to be able to communicate the cooperative learning that happens everyday with my students. I have included conflict resolution resources and links. Conflict resolution has a natural connection to performing arts and articulates the communication skills building that creative collaboration demands.