Dorothy Heathcote
Encyclopedia
Dorothy Heathcote MBE
(29 August 1926 – 8 October 2011) was a drama teacher
and academic
who used teacher in role as an approach to teaching across the curriculum in schools and later in other settings. She was a highly accomplished teacher of theatre and drama for learning and amongst her many achievements she defined and developed 'Mantle of the Expert' as an approach to teaching. The key book she wrote with Gavin Bolton that explains her Mantle of the Expert approach to Education is called, 'Drama for Learning' (1994). The most significant previous book that explains her Drama approach was written by Betty Jane Wagner and was entitled, 'Drama as a Creative Teaching and Learning Medium'.
, West Yorkshire
in 1926. After failing her 11+ exam she studied at the local elementary school, leaving in July 1940, a month before her 14th birthday, to work alongside her mother as a weaver in a woollen mill.
Heathcote worked there for five years and expected to stay there for the rest of her working life, but at the behest of her fellow workers, the mill boss, Charlie Fletcher, sponsored her to go and study drama
at the Northern Theatre School in Bradford
under the guidance of Esme Church
. Famously Fletcher told her, as she left, that if it didn't work out there would always be three looms waiting for her at his mill.
While on teaching practice Heathcote travelled around Yorkshire visiting schools and working with random sets of pupils. Using her training she invented drama from whatever opportunities presented themselves to her. She also started teaching evening classes at the Bradford Civic and directing amateur productions in local village halls.
Over the next 10 years Heathcote's reputation grew as more and more people saw her teach using her remarkable approach.
From the beginning her work was considered unorthodox. In his biography, Dorothy Heathcote's Story, Gavin Bolton describes the reaction at the time, "it was anathema to drama specialists, both the traditionalists who saw her work as rejecting real theatre and the progressives who thought she broke all the rules on which Child Drama was founded."
In 1964 Heathcote started teaching a full-time Advanced Diploma course at Newcastle University. In 1979 this alternated yearly with a full-time M.Ed course. In the twenty-two years, until Heathcote's retirement from Newcastle in 1986, these courses became among the most influential university courses in the country.
In 1966 her work first appeared on film in Death of a President, a BBC
documentary
of a drama production she made with boys from a local approved school
; in acting out the play the young offenders are made aware of how the consequences of one individual's actions can impact upon the community. She very quickly became known to a much wider audience and began extensively travelling abroad to teach and lecture in other countries. In 1972 Heathcote was featured on Omnibus in a documentary film celebrating her work called (rather fittingly), Three Looms Waiting.
Gavin Bolton has suggested that towards the end of the 1960s Heathcote's work experienced, what he calls, a sea change as she "moved away from her dramatically and educationally successful use of making up a play, to being a creator of pictures in which she became a fellow reader along with the class." This new way of working required her and her students to spend a great deal of time working in hospitals for the severely handicapped and criminal institutions for young men.
A further sea change occurred in the early 1980s, which brought Heathcote back into schools. The drama approach she had called, Mantle of the Expert, she designed specifically for teachers who had little experience of drama, "I introduced mantle of the expert work when I was trying to help teachers who didn't understand creating tension by being playwrights and to cut out the need for children having to act, or express feelings and behave like other people".
. She was able to work until her death on 8 October 2011. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
for services to drama as education.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(29 August 1926 – 8 October 2011) was a drama teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and academic
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
who used teacher in role as an approach to teaching across the curriculum in schools and later in other settings. She was a highly accomplished teacher of theatre and drama for learning and amongst her many achievements she defined and developed 'Mantle of the Expert' as an approach to teaching. The key book she wrote with Gavin Bolton that explains her Mantle of the Expert approach to Education is called, 'Drama for Learning' (1994). The most significant previous book that explains her Drama approach was written by Betty Jane Wagner and was entitled, 'Drama as a Creative Teaching and Learning Medium'.
Birth and early life
She was born in SteetonSteeton (village)
Steeton is a small village 6 miles away from Skipton and 3 miles away from Keighley. It is part of Steeton with Eastburn civil parish. It is a thriving village with a major hospital , a butchers, a newsagents, 3 hairdressers, a fruit shop, a chienese takeaway, a transport cafe, 2 parks, a bowling...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
in 1926. After failing her 11+ exam she studied at the local elementary school, leaving in July 1940, a month before her 14th birthday, to work alongside her mother as a weaver in a woollen mill.
Heathcote worked there for five years and expected to stay there for the rest of her working life, but at the behest of her fellow workers, the mill boss, Charlie Fletcher, sponsored her to go and study drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
at the Northern Theatre School in Bradford
Bradford
Bradford lies at the heart of the City of Bradford, a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, in Northern England. It is situated in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Leeds, and northwest of Wakefield. Bradford became a municipal borough in 1847, and received its charter as a city in 1897...
under the guidance of Esme Church
Esme Church
Esme Church was a British actress and theatre director. In a long career she acted with the Old Vic Company, The Royal Shakespeare Company and on Broadway...
. Famously Fletcher told her, as she left, that if it didn't work out there would always be three looms waiting for her at his mill.
Drama training
At theatre school, Heathcote set her heart on becoming an actress. But at the end of her second year Esme Church told her she had no future on the stage, "My dear, you're very talented – quite fearfully so at times, but you are not the right size for your age, for the roles you can play… I think we have to face it." She then suggested teaching.While on teaching practice Heathcote travelled around Yorkshire visiting schools and working with random sets of pupils. Using her training she invented drama from whatever opportunities presented themselves to her. She also started teaching evening classes at the Bradford Civic and directing amateur productions in local village halls.
Academic work
In 1951, Heathcote was appointed, completely out of the blue, as a staff tutor at the Durham Institute by Brian Stanley. Stanley took a huge risk employing such an inexperienced teacher. She had no formal education, no national teacher qualification and virtually no experience of teaching children.Over the next 10 years Heathcote's reputation grew as more and more people saw her teach using her remarkable approach.
From the beginning her work was considered unorthodox. In his biography, Dorothy Heathcote's Story, Gavin Bolton describes the reaction at the time, "it was anathema to drama specialists, both the traditionalists who saw her work as rejecting real theatre and the progressives who thought she broke all the rules on which Child Drama was founded."
In 1964 Heathcote started teaching a full-time Advanced Diploma course at Newcastle University. In 1979 this alternated yearly with a full-time M.Ed course. In the twenty-two years, until Heathcote's retirement from Newcastle in 1986, these courses became among the most influential university courses in the country.
In 1966 her work first appeared on film in Death of a President, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
of a drama production she made with boys from a local approved school
Approved School
Approved School is a term formerly used in the United Kingdom to mean a particular kind of residential institution to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control...
; in acting out the play the young offenders are made aware of how the consequences of one individual's actions can impact upon the community. She very quickly became known to a much wider audience and began extensively travelling abroad to teach and lecture in other countries. In 1972 Heathcote was featured on Omnibus in a documentary film celebrating her work called (rather fittingly), Three Looms Waiting.
Gavin Bolton has suggested that towards the end of the 1960s Heathcote's work experienced, what he calls, a sea change as she "moved away from her dramatically and educationally successful use of making up a play, to being a creator of pictures in which she became a fellow reader along with the class." This new way of working required her and her students to spend a great deal of time working in hospitals for the severely handicapped and criminal institutions for young men.
A further sea change occurred in the early 1980s, which brought Heathcote back into schools. The drama approach she had called, Mantle of the Expert, she designed specifically for teachers who had little experience of drama, "I introduced mantle of the expert work when I was trying to help teachers who didn't understand creating tension by being playwrights and to cut out the need for children having to act, or express feelings and behave like other people".
After retirement
After retiring from Newcastle University in 1986 Dorothy Heathcote moved to Derby to live with her daughter. She continued teaching and writing and in May 2005 the University invested her as an honorary Doctor of LettersDoctor of Letters
Doctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
. She was able to work until her death on 8 October 2011. She was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours
2011 Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced on 7 June 2011 in New Zealand and 11 June 2011 in United Kingdom to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2011.-Privy Councillors:...
for services to drama as education.
External links
- This is the official website dedicated to Dorothy's work which was set up by her daughter in October 2011.
- The Dorothy Heathcote Archive at Manchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan UniversityManchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
- Mantle of the Expert Website
- International Drama Theatre and Education Association (IDEA)
- University of Derby obituary