Listening to the Silences: An Ethnodrama about a Teacher’s First Year in the Chicago Public Schools

Listening to the Silences" is an ethnodrama (Saldaña, 2011) that evokes the experience of a teacher in the Chicago Public Schools as she attempts to make sense of her first year in one of the city’s large, high poverty, African American elementary schools. Every word in the script was voiced during a single narrative interview. Words and music from Arvo Part's "Fratres" combine to evoke the struggle to learn to teach by teaching. Opportunities for audience dialogue are structured throughout the session.