There are those moments of excitement for me in the art classroom. Oddly enough and funnily enough, they are not the moments when all of the children are sitting like angels, quietly and hands folded. No. The exciting moments to me are when I look around the class and see active, happy students, smiling and engaged in cutting, gluing, drawing, weaving, some tongues hanging out of mouths and other calling out to me and friends to look at what they have done . . . This is what it is all about. This is lighting a spark. To me, this is learning. It is learning the joy of creating and producing.
Students work all day in class and if they don’t get it “right” they are often chastised or told they were not “paying attention” or “following directions.” As a teacher, I have sometimes said these things myself. But when that spark is lit, we do not have to drive or force children to work; they do it enthusiastically.
These are a couple of artworks by my students.
I could not agree with you more with lighting the spark of learning. As a teacher you are always looking for the aha moment. That is the moment that I wish for with my students. Too many times they are put down for what they can't do but its that moment for them when THEY realize that they can. Cool art work!!
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