Wednesday, March 8, 2017

There's a Reason I'm Not an Art Teacher


As a teacher, I'm pretty good at many things.  I have great relationships with the kids in my class.  I can talk books like nobody's business.  I can look at student writing and see what lessons need to happen next.

But I am not an art teacher.

Behold:




My "confused" person looks drunk.  For real.  I'm kind of surprised no adult in my school has commented on it.  If you enlarge the picture, his eyes are spirals.  Why on earth did I choose to draw that picture that way?















These were my drawings during today's introduction to measurement.  What the heck?  If I hadn't taught the lesson, I wouldn't know what these things were supposed to be!









These are just two of my sad attempts at drawing in my classroom.  I am very comfortable admitting that I can't draw to save my life.  I'm okay with it.  I own it.

And I think it's important for my students to see that.  So many of them are caught up with getting it "right" or always being perfect.  It's important for them to see that sometimes, a quick draft or sketch is all that's necessary, and those will be far from perfect.  It's important for them to see an adult being vulnerable and doing something outside his/her comfort zone.

How can I expect my kids to take risks if I am unable to take them myself?

1 comment:

  1. I completely relate to this story. I will often draw people with just heads, no bodies, especially when I'm drawing a crowd. I will often joke about it when I'm drawing something, and my class can see that I am not perfect. Thank goodness.

    ReplyDelete