MIME & MOVEMENT is a Stepping Stone
Mrs. Claire De Silva won an award from the Trinity College of London as one of the best Senior Tutors in the department
An epitome of Speech and Drama in the Trinity College of London, Mrs. Claire De Silva reveals her process of teaching throughout the years. It is no easy task to be a teacher as it requires special attention towards individuals. However, Mrs. Claire De Silva has been in the teaching field for fifty years and has no intention of stopping. Having attended Good Shepherd Convent she took part in this programme as well and it was a major reason to push her in the direction of teaching. She studied under the famous teacher Irene Wanigaratne who is her mentor and prepped her up for these long fifty years of teaching.
Furthermore on her trip to England she was under the guidance of Doreen Fisher and Rona Lawrie. Mrs. Claire De Silva has been teaching at Bishop’s College Colombo for 48 years and made it a point to state that it is a school that “Lives their Drama”. Apart from teaching at Bishop’s College she also directed many plays at various schools for the annual interschool Shakespeare Drama Competition. Mrs. Claire has worked with St. Joseph’s College Colombo, Wycherley International School, St. Nicholas’ International and Methodist College Colombo. Her private productions consist of the famous Rockefeller and 2 other productions at the Lionel Wendt.
Moving on to her career as a Trinity College teacher it is indeed a vibrant one. She describes the basics of speech and drama as reading and writing which are the stepping stones of a bright future. Bringing in children at the tender age of 4 or 5 she gives them the basics of what is needed to further pursue this endeavour. Mrs. Claire states that it is a must to perfect the basics for at least 6 months before moving into the exams. Trinity College follows a strict syllabus which must be adhered to by the students.
After the basics she then moves the young ones on to the initial stage. Once the initial stage is completed it is a series of grades ranging from grade one to eight. Once Grade eight is completed the students move on to the diploma level, which is the most intense of all. This level requires loads of effort and is accompanied by a hefty workload. Nevertheless Mrs. Claire De Silva in her own wonderful ways guides her students through this level without giving them any sort of pressure, allowing them to take things at their own pace. She also states the importance of drama in school and also backstage as it teaches students to be disciplined while being on stage and off stage.
Mrs. Claire De Silva also won an award from the Trinity College of London as one of the best Senior Tutors in the department. Her Diploma students won international awards in their final stage, bringing both pride and joy to the Claire De Silva School of Speech & Drama.
Most of her award winning diploma level students started off with Mrs. Claire at the initial level and excelled with her throughout. They described the best moments with her as the ones where they get scolded but also how she laughs after it’s all over. Her students describe her as a very firm but loving and caring teacher who always listens to what anyone has to say.
Hearing “Thank you Aunty Claire” at the end of a class is described as the happiest moment of her day. This is indeed what brings content to a person who dedicated her entire life to teaching and sharing knowledge. Mrs. Claire states that a good teacher always shares any knowledge she has and it is the main reason why her students achieve such great heights. Giving a message to all upcoming teachers, Mrs Claire says that a teacher is someone who listens to her students, gets them to open up, share and come out of their shells of shyness. Once your students start loving you, you will never stop loving them. So, be close to your students and just be yourself and everyone can be a perfect teacher and she wishes the same for everyone!