Don’t Waste Our Times Productions believes that teaching is an art, that the public school is an act of faith and that neither can be measured fairly or effectively using quantitative methods. Therefore high stakes testing as it exists today creates a false sense of accountability and should be replaced with project-based curriculum and community accountability through publication. DWOT productions creates opportunities for community accountability through publication with Community-Wide Essay Contests and other educational opportunities for EVERYONE!

HOME  CONTACT US

Chronology of DWOT Events 

April 2008: University of Michigan Labor Studies Conference. Don’t Waste Our Times Productions had the unique opportunity to present our special brand of Community-Wide Alternative Education to the young people who attended this year’s Labor Studies conference. We discussed the nature and purpose of a variety of effective groups and helped students identify their most pressing concerns and figure out how to bring these concerns to the public and get others involved!

March 2008: Educational Event! Roots of Women’s History: Pass it Along! This year’s Women’s History Month Extravaganza was all about the kids! We hosted 170 third and fourth graders at the Ann Arbor District Library for an exciting “Information Hunt!” Many Thanks to local author and historian, Grace Shackman for her fascinating talk and pictures of local women, especially the first autopsy performed by women medical students at the UM!! Students combed the stacks and databases for hundreds of references related to women and their accomplishments! After they got their materials, they gathered with their adults and discussed the most interesting and important of these and recorded their findings on “leaves” that decorated a beautiful tree (made especially for us by Stafford Carpentry!) The tree was installed at the Bailey Library at Washtenaw Community College for the whole month of March!

March 2007: Educational Event! DWOT and Cheever visited University Living, Assisted Living and asked the residents what they thought were some of Women's important historical moments. Three generations of women discussing Women's History! Fascinating!!

March2007: 5th Annual Women's History Month Celebration and Community-Wide Essay Contest. Ann Arbor, MI The Ginsberg Center and the Firefly Club. This year DWOT partnered with the fine young women of University of Michigan's Adelia Cheever Program. This year's essay contest had the widest participation yet! Entrants came from Washtenaw Community College, University of Michigan and Universal Academy in Detroit. The Firefly hosted our annual benefit. This year our featured charity was the Women's Center of Southeastern Michigan, acts at the Firefly included poets Chinyere Knight and Marja Lankinen, Comedian Terrye Summers, University of Michignan's Accappella Jazz Ensemble, Anna Rose Kessler Moore, and Belly Dance from Unveiled Studio.

March 2006: Educational Event! DWOT sponsors our first Women's History Month Teach-In.

March 2006: 4th Annual Women's History Month Celebration and Community-Wide Essay Contest. Ann Arbor MI Ann Arbor District Library and The Firefly Club. This year's event was a benefit for Habitat for Humanity's Women Build project. Our essay awards ceremony featured a presentation by Dr. Marinetta Porter. Featured acts for the Firefly show included poets Molly Raynor and  Lauren Whitehead, Comedians Crystal Banks and Germaine Gebhard, The University of Michigan Graduate Resident String Quartet; Quartetto Fortuna, and a performance of eastern Indian dance from the troupe of Madhavi Mai.

March 2005: Educational Event! DWOT brought Women's History Month to the students of Stone School for a one-day Women's History Extravaganza!

March 2005: 3rd Annual Women's History Month Celebration and First Annual Community-Wide Essay Contest. Ann Arbor, MI Ann Arbor District Library and The Firefly Club. This event was a benefit for the Corner Health Center of Ypsilanti. DWOT hosted internationally reknown jazz sensation, STRAIGHT AHEAD, Comedians, Jiwon Lee and Phoenecia Banks and Magician, Misty Lee.

November 2004: Live Performance at National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Indianapolis , IN.
“Johnny Learns To: A Tale of Humanity Told in Three Paradoxes.” An original play written and directed by Anna Gersh. This “interactive dramatic experiment” is designed especially for the classroom. Program books include four lesson plans and are available through our website for $10.

October 2004: Presentation of “Johnny Learns To…” at the Teachers 4 Social Justice (T4SJ)conference, San Francisco , CA .

March 2004: 2^nd Annual Women’s History Month Celebration, Ann Arbor , MI
Event bringing both women AND men together to discuss women’s contributions to history.

Ongoing: DWOT Textbook Project
A collection of modern, socially conscious and pedagogically sound lesson plans written by practicing teachers and compiled and edited by DWOT Productions.

Ongoing: “Who Wears the Pants? A Film about Women for Everyone”
An exploration of attitudes about the current state of the feminist movement and women’s contributions to history. Interviews, trivia and much, MUCH more!!!
March 2003: Nocturne de la Femme (1^st Women’s History Month Celebration), Ann Arbor , MI

March 2003: Live Performance: “Johnny Learns To…” Elbow Room, Ypsilanti , MI
This performance featured support from local musicians, Acoustic Odyssey, Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace and voter registration at the event!

August 2002: Live Performance: “Johnny Learns To…” Towne Center Plaza , Ann Arbor , MI. The first interactive performance! Pictures from this performance can be seen on the “Johnny” link from the home page.

December 2001: DWOT produces a film of “Johnny Learns To…” Written and directed by Anna Gersh, produced by Cherilynn Sing for DWOT. London, New York, Ann Arbor, MI. Accepted by the Royal Shakespeare Company to be included in a traveling art exhibition that accompanied the stage performance of Salman Rushdie’s “Midnight’s Children.”

The DWOT Mission Statement:
DWOT Productions is a non-profit educational organization (501c3 coming soon!)  committed to developing an urgent, wholistic response to the current crisis in the US education system, specifically the increasing problems associated with standardization, classroom management and community well-being, in the form of 

COMMUNITY-WIDE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION.

All DWOT events encourage curriculum study that is often unfortunately overlooked by the public school in an effort to meet externally imposed requirements.

All DWOT events encourage students of all ages and abilities to participate and enjoy the pleasure of learning together. 

Contact: Anna Gersh  d_wotproductions@hotmail.com 
Cheri Sing  d_wotproductions@yahoo.com