After reflecting on the first day we had with the students, I can happily say that I really believe that teaching is something that I can find satisfaction in. I started off pretty jittery though. In the beginning of class, when students started showing up, I felt a little bit like we were going to be overwhelmed, or at least me. I was nervous, and I wasn't certain why. It could be the change involved, not everyday do we teach in class rather than learn. Maybe it was the thought that no one would embrace our project. I believe that my biggest fear on day one was that I wouldn't be able to connect well with students in high school, or god forbid, middle school students. I feel so far removed from there world at this point in my life!
All of these fears slowly vanished though as Amanda and I got to know our group though. They were pretty responsive to us and one another. The mixture of students in our group all seem very different, however, they communicate well. One of our members appears to be very talented, you can tell she loves to draw and is working on her skills daily. Another one of our students seems enthusiastic about getting work done, I am not sure how many different artist trading cards he made, but there were plenty! He seems to experiment and not be afraid to try things, very open minded. The other girl in our group is a bit more intellectual than the others, she has interests in music, science, robots, and botany. Very different sorts of thinking, but they all seem to embrace our assignment.
After all is said and done, things will go well and I'm sure that we will all learn from each other. I'm excited to really get to work on Thursday. Oh, and where are all the guys at? Seriously, it's like Studio Arts all over again in there!
you were worried about connecting with your students? funny story: i think the few, er, VERY few, boys in the entire program think you're the bomb dot com. it was pretty obvious that you made solid connections with the boys because they definitely seemed interested in spending excess time with you. i'm sure they were drawn to how genuine you are. congrats on your students embracing your project!
ReplyDeleteI'm with Julia on this one, you're one of the most personable people I know! I don't think that connecting with people will ever be a problem for you. I'm excited to see what your diverse sounding group will make with your project!
ReplyDeleteI loved how much time you spent with that little guy after class! You sir, are awesome. I too noted how few fellas we have in the whole UAYSFA, mebbe it speaks to a larger topic about how younger males in our state view art in terms of importance in the barometer of after school activities (lets face it HALO or COD: BLack Ops we are not).
ReplyDeleteBut I will say that the boys who we DID get seem all kinds of talented and interested so we still are in the lucky position of getting to teach them along with a whole bunch of equally creative and talented young women.
Plus, I cant think of a group of personalties better suited to handling/becoming enamored wth the mini-Rachel Marie than you guys. I think that sculpting is great outlet for someone with so much obvious energy and creativity! I think she is destined to be a star for your class.
It is great to see how different each of the students in the groups are. I think as time goes on, we will definitely see their individuality shine through.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that you more worried because of the age difference. For me, I was glad that the difference was large because it set apart student and teacher.
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