A Call to Arms

It is said that a good teacher is like a candle, it consumes itself to light the way for others. That is what a teacher I know stands for. She gives everything of herself for her students. In three short years she has turned around the drama department at Los Alamitos High School into a premiere theater group. They went from the standard old high school plays to producing original works with high production values. Her name is Taryn Stenberg. Taryn, her husband, and the amazing student actors have worked tirelessly play after play putting on one amazing show after another.

From dashing sword fights in "The Three Musketeers" to an entire play in black and white, this program has gone leaps and bounds above normal high school theater departments.

That is why I was utterly shocked when Mrs. Stenberg was asked by administration to step down. They wanted her to tell her students and families that she was leaving on her own, they wanted her to lie. She could not do that. Administration said she was not the right fit. This is not true and quite honestly it is disrespectful to the time and energy Mrs. Stenberg has put into to this program. When she accepted this position she was told they wanted something new, something different.

They wanted someone to breath live into this program. Life is exactly what she brought. The kids were excited. They were apart of the creative process from set design to helping with writing the plays. Through the years I have watched several of the plays performed and the calibre of the performances and production value of the plays were amazing. The reason why is simple-everyone was excited. Everyone was vested into the program. The department took off. Each new play brought more challenges and bigger adventures. The students accepted each one with enthusiasm.

I am writing this today as a call to arms. As Dylan Thomas said, “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Do not let Mrs. Stenberg’s work be in vain. Stand up and get loud. Let the Administration of Los Alamitos High School know you are angry and disappointed.

Let them know what kind of teacher she is. Let them know how much you have enjoyed the plays at the high school. Let them know that she is not only a good fit, but a perfect one. They have already made their choice and this will likely not change anything but as fan of the work of this department over the last few years, which I attribute to Taryn Stenberg- I ask you to stand up for her.

Let her know you are behind her, “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”