Entry No. 6
4.18.23
#growth
thinking:
Recently, I have been thinking a lot about growth- part of it is the time of year. In Colorado, we are having our last few storms of the previous winter season, and the spring season is filled with sunshine and flowers and intermittent bursts of Chaco-and-tank-top-wearing-inducing warmth. It reminds me of reading TS Elliot's "The Wasteland" for a prompt in my lithography class last semester. It discusses the metaphor of the seasons as part of the poem, and uses it to analyze the intricacies of existence post WWI. I am not comparing the tribulations of schooling or Seasonal Affective Disorder to WWI at all, but rather liked Elliot's adoption for spring to represent triumph through struggles and think it is an appropriate to use to look at our student's through a lens of a growth mindset with.
I have seen this triumph over a struggle in many ways- students have made INCREDIBLE work under my instruction when they initially had no desire to do so. Students have warmed up to me immensely and I take such an enjoyment in creating these relationships with them and utilizing that connection to help them grow into better artists, and better all-around people. I have found ways to meet my students where they are at. One instance in particular stands out to me: I was leading a lesson recently and I had a very sleepy student in an 8th grade art class at Webber Middle School. My student was just very tired and I sat down with him and talked about it.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked. He responded that, yes, he was okay, just didn't get very good sleep the night before. We then came to an agreement that if he finished his work early, I would be okay with him resting for the rest of class, as long as his planning worksheet was filled out to a point that it would be a good resource for him in the next class. He filled out his worksheet in about fifteen minutes, then rested his head on his arms for the rest of class. I looked at his worksheet and he had filled it out incredibly! He had followed the written instructions well, had ideated some good lists of what might be in each of those compositions, then chose his favorite theme and made 3 compositions for it. We did not have supplies for Step 2 until Day 2 of that lesson plan so I felt that this moment was a good choice to respect my student as an individual and allow him the rest he needed while assuring his work still got done appropriately.
I think this story is one of many that highlights what equity can look like in an art classroom, in a way we may not think of. Students have struggles before and after our class, oftentimes, during too! To understand that and still help them grow allows for the most success for those students but is an important lesson to learn early on as an educator as well.
Making:
For this linocut, I made a lovely scene of a meadow, emphasizing a flower and a butterfly, all wrapped into a little squiggly-lined frame. The meadow is a metaphor for all the others growing around a student and how their growth impacts that student- and if there are struggles, whether with peers, outside-of-school communities, or even teachers, that can act like a weed and hinder the student's growth. The meadow also represents how far this student has already come- they have gone through a lot before we ever meet our students- even if they are kindergarteners! The squiggly border represents all the hardships our students may have faced and still may have yet to face, and the unseen discomforts that they may experience while in school- and may express through the wonderful avenues of art class! The flower and butterfly celebrate the growth and accomplishment that may occur within a class- or outside too! Just like the ecosystem of a meadow, each feature in a classroom plays a role in the survival and success of a student. It is our job to make sure they are getting what they need to support that learning.
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