THE DOVER CHRONICLE VOL 2

THE DOVER CHRONICLE - OCTOBER 2023 VOL. 2
EXPRESS YOURSELF THROUGH CULTURE AND
ART
Before you read this article, I’d like you to
think of 2 unique things you’ve never tried
doing before that interest you. Maybe you
think you could be a good salesman, a
good photographer, a good comedian, or
maybe even a good poet. Now imagine
how rewarding it would be to showcase
your skills to all your fellow students. How
would you know if you haven’t tried it yet?
Cultural and artistic expression has grown
to be one of the core facets of education
today. At our school, for instance, we have
seen the development of so many new
channels through which students can
express their identities: the cultural
celebrations, the music showcases and the
school plays. Especially in the last few
years, we’ve seen new faces performing on
stage every term, and we’ve discovered the
talents of many in our student body. That
has always been what Dover Court is about
– diversity in each student’s identity and
abilities.
With the foundation for expression in
place, the second step is thinking; how can
we take this even further? How can we
help each and every student take pride in
themselves and explore their various
talents?
Before we ask those questions, let us first
address why it is important to express
yourself in school. A student’s identity
consists of multiple areas: their heritage,
their passions, their personalities, and so on
and so forth. A great example of this is in
the “Who Am I” task that all students took
part in during wellbeing this term. This was
a reflection of each student’s individuality
and uniqueness. Being able to share these
things with the rest of your student body is
extremely beneficial:
It gives students more confidence in
themselves and their personalities
It ties the school community closer
together, as we learn more about each
other's talents and skills
It motivates and promotes engagement
as seeing your friends showcase their
abilities and receive praise is a form of
vicarious reinforcement. This
encourages more people to get
involved themselves.
It turns students into truly all-rounded
and complete individuals, who are
confident, have a distinctive
personality, and have the experience to
back it up.
These are just a fair few of the numerous
reasons why it’s so important for students
to express themselves on a bigger stage at
school. It is a core facet of a holistic
education and students will reap the
benefits in the future.
Now that we have established how
important it is, we can talk about branching
out and expanding our outlets for
expression even further. Many members of
our student body possess hidden talents
that have not yet been tapped into. For
example, Comedy is an art that we have
never really explored in our school.
However, I know countless individuals in
our school with an incredible sense of
humour and great audience awareness.
In fact, as you’re reading this, think (yes,
more thinking) of the 3 funniest people you
know. Now think of them doing a stand-up
comedy show at school, giving you their
best material and receiving tremendous
applause and laughter from the crowd. This
is just one idea that has so much potential;
it gives the performers validation and
encouragement in their abilities and brings
our school community even closer together
Dev Jay Pakshootra