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Lesson Plans


Re: How do you deal with failures

[ Thread ][ Subject ][ Author ][ Date ]
Wendy Manning (wmanning)
Sun, 28 Feb 1999 13:07:31 -0400

It depends on why they are unwilling.....could be any number of reasons.
One thing you can do is try to find some lessons that fit your goals and at the
same time almost guarantee success. If the work looks "cool " and artistic, and
you make a fuss over it, the self-esteem boost might be enough to encourage them
to "move beyond crayons" when they get something a little more challenging.I have
often found this to work with the type of kids you mention. The self-esteem aspect
seems to play a bigger role in art then some other subjects, at least at
middle-school level.
Other kids have responded to my developing-the-right-brain speil, and I tell
them that even if they don't like art they are making themselves smarter by doing
it.
In my experience the biggest factor of all is class size. I have a few smaller
classes this year (24 as opposed to 33) and I've reached some kids I was
unsuccessful with last year, simply because I have had more time to spend with
them and could deal more quickly with disruptions.
Having said all this , I haven't had the Grade Seven Class From Hell yet, not
till next term. When they were the Grade Six Class From Hell they weren't willing
to do anything and I was at a loss at how to motivate them (as were the rest of
their teachers).
Wendy

LiegeB wrote:

> Hello to all,
> I've been reading this list for several weeks now; this a wonderful group!
> Everyone seems to be quite committed to quality teaching so I'm hoping you'll
> have some input regarding my recent feelings of inadequacies as an art
> educator,
> or educator of any type. I teach K-6, each group meets once per week for
> only 30 minutes. The problem is I feel like I'm functioning more as a
> babysitter than someone providing a valuable resource. There is some pressure
> from administration to produce pretty things for the walls but for the most
> part I am able to put that aside and I teach what I want. I guess I don't
> feel I'm getting the results I would like (not in terms of product because I'm
> much more interested inprocess). How does everyone deal with students who are
> not "art majors"? I realize I can't inspire them all but what to do with
> those that, if life were perfect would be filtered out of the class? This is
> not to say that art is only for the serious student on the contrary I think it
> is an essential to producing a whole person but, like it or not, there are
> always going to be some that are unwilling to move beyond crayons, regardless
> of age. What do you do when you realize you just aren't going to reach them?
> And how do you prevent them from being a disruption?
>
> I am certain this is the right group to consult and will greatly appreciate
> any thoughts, positive or negative.
>
> Hoping you're all enjoying the weekend,
> Louisa