Education

Since 2007, we’ve been offering robust arts integrated educational programs primarily in Chicago Public Schools. The majority of the students we impact have come from economically distressed communities. One of our primary organizational goals has been to provide resources and learning opportunities that allow individuals to explore, express, and embrace a more global perspective. Exposing younger demographics to our polycultural worldview has been critical to our community engagement efforts. Fostering skills in empathy, pluralism, and discovery, our arts education programs have offered depth in content that goes beyond seeing a play, and have allowed us to partner with classroom teachers and their students to fulfill our mission in exciting new ways.

In working with middle school, high school, and college students, we’ve been able to spark critical conversations and discoveries among the next generation of engaged citizens, artists, and art consumers. Our educational programs have allowed us to empower students while giving them a platform to articulate their own personal truths while exploring issues affecting the communities in which they live. Our pedagogical impact has been measured in the creation of more conscientious, more knowledgeable, and more empathic classroom dynamics. Furthermore, we’ve been credited with preparing students for an increasingly interconnected and interdependent global world.

 
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EPIC
Education
EPIC
Education

Silk Road Rising’s 20-session in-school arts education program, EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course), is designed to harness playwriting to bridge the gap between a student’s imagination and the act of articulating that imagination as a fully-formed, ten-minute play.EPIC was developed out of a desire to impart upon today’s students the importance of empathy—not just as a value and a practice, but also as a significant tool when it comes to cultural sensitivity and conflict resolution. Students explore their world—and themselves—as EPIC immerses them in dramatic writing, aiding them in the discovery of compassionate empathy.

Education
Myths to Drama
Education
Myths to Drama
Education

Myths to Drama is an arts integrated education program based on State of Illinois’ Board of Education descriptors including standards for fine arts, drama, reading, writing, and social studies. Myths and stories are a catalyst for creative exploration. They are a vehicle for creating drama. They are also a wonderful way to make lasting connections with classroom learning. Our education team collaborates with classroom teachers to create a unique, year long, curriculum that aligns “Myths to Drama” with classroom content. Pulling myths from Early Islamic World, Classical India, Ancient China, Hellenic Greece, Imperial Rome, and Pharaonic Egypt, Myths to Drama impacted over one thousand elementary students in the Chicagoland area.

Education