First of all, let me say that is has been ages, more years than the majority of my you, my classmates, have even been alive, since I have a had a project assigned as part of a class. I’ve just fired off a facebook message to one of my oldest and dearest friends, my painting partner from college asking if he could come work alongside me as I execute my proposed piece. It’s been that long since I’ve had an “official assignment.”
Secondly, I must say that to begin planning for this piece is an exhilarating feeling! Having complete control over what I want to do and how I want to do it is empowering. As I sketched away on my plans I had to bear in mind that I would need to tweak this and that to prevent the clay from sticking in the molds. My brain was racing as I proposed and rejected different arrangements for the tiles. I had to keep ignoring ‘el pequeño diabilito’, the little naysayer perched on my shoulder who kept whispering, “It will never work, you’ve bitten off too much! You don’t know enough about this process, you’ll be a failure!!!” (Fortunately, I’m pretty good at ignoring the pathetic voice of impending doom!) I’m not certain that the final piece will adhere to these preliminary plans, but I’m excited to just be this far.
How would this insight relate to my classroom practice of helping students develop craft? I feel that everything in the elementary art room is boom, boom, and boom, “We’ve got to get this done.” Seems like it is always time to move on to the next thing in order to cover the curriculum, and now, these past two years, to administer common assessments. (In the best interest of staying on task, I won’t digress, but I could write volumes highlighting my belief of common assessments in fine arts!) More than anything else, this exercise makes me think that I need to find a way to slow things down a bit, and allow more time for planning, especially with my older grades. My third grade class is in the middle of a project for which I required the use of a fairly complete rough-draft. They did not complain much about doing two drawings, and the quality of their work has improved.
Great reflection Sheryl. I am glad to hear that you are showing ‘el pequeño diabilito’ (love that) who's boss! I am also happy to hear that being in control of the assignment and the design process has been such a positive feeling. I am glad to see that you have transferred this thinking to your classroom. It sounds like integrating opportunities for students to have a say in the planning process more (and to slow things down when you can - despite those *ahem* common assessments) sounds like a good plan.
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