New York-based financial professional and philanthropist Thomas Edison Kelly is engaged in community-focused endeavors in both New York and his native Anguilla. Thomas Edison Kelly is highly involved with the work of New York City-based nonprofit Moving Mountains, a theater production program dedicated to building character through the arts.
Character education is a type of curriculum designed and implemented to teach students morality, empathy, and other prosocial behaviors. Theater is an effective medium for teaching character education, due in large part to the opportunity to role-play and analyze a character’s thought processes and feelings.
Young people can then connect these experiences to real-life scenarios. For example, participants can observe how two characters in a performance may interpret the same situation differently. This can help build important social skills such as understanding outside perspectives.
Further, theater allows for creativity and imagination, which can help develop confidence. Since organizing a performance is a collaborative process, children also learn valuable lessons in teamwork.
