Inspired by personal work in secondary education, Ms. Little has created an invaluable resource to help educators use applied theatre to create multidisciplinary connections in their school district. Illustrating how to integrate a drama program with English, Social Studies, Visual Arts, and Television, this book creates a broad tool to effectively reach students and help them not only become better scholars but better global citizens. The book breaks down the process of integrating arts into academics - from working with school administration, to creating lesson plans, inspiring students and getting the community on board. This is a hands-on approach that is easily utilized by any district - offering examples and testimonies from students who have gone through the process. This journey can be daunting but it will be the most exhilarating ride you will ever experience. This book also tackles and exemplifies the outstanding work that Ms. Little has done in the field of anti-bullying. Her innovative program won the Golden Bell Award for Leadership and Innovation in combating bullying and providing education opportunities to students to explore, dialogue and find new ways to create a safer environment within their school. "Anti-bullying has become a topic of concern, planning and legislation which has lead to a strong anti-bullying law in New Jersey dictating that every school must have an anti-bullying program. As school administrators, teachers, counselors, parents, students and advocates struggle to identify the 'just-right' program to address this issue, Changing the Way We Think leads the way in offering solutions. This book provides expert guidance, and in these times, much needed assistance in eradicating bullying." Carolyn Beauchamp, MSW, ACSW President and CEO of the Mental Health Association in New Jersey
About the Author: Jennifer Little spent over fifteen years as a professional actress, performing on Broadway with such luminaries as Harold Prince and in film (with Ron Howard and Penny Marshall) as well as on television. More recently, she turned to working with at-risk students, doing Literacy through the Arts, Guest Artist programs and creating arts programs for inner city schools. In 2005, she began teaching fulltime, working on bringing applied theatre to standard curriculum programs within public schools in the U.S. and integrating Social Studies and English into the Arts. She currently teaches fulltime at a high school in Somerset, New Jersey and has created a critically acclaimed program that focuses on theatre's role in society and actors' responsibility to the world. She has spoken at New York University's conference on Applied Theatre and Citizenship, the 2010 Educational Theatre Association's (EdTA) Conference and the 2011 International Online Conference on Teacher Education: Teacher Education in the Age of Globalization, the 2011 AATE National Conference, the 2010 Contact Theatre International Forum and the 2011 Global Conference on Human Rights in Washington D.C. Her article, "Applying Ourselves to the Human Drama - How Documentary Theatre Helped One School Find Its Heart" was published in the Fall 2010 issue of "Teaching Theatre." She is currently part of an award-winning program using devised drama to tackle the issue of school bullying and making students' communities safer. She has done workshops with academic and theatre students and professionals across the country and is available for professional development. "Changing The Way We Think," is Ms. Little's first book. Her program is being modeled across the state as a tool to help districts tackle the serious issue of bullying and student character education.