Okay. How about this rant?

[conuly]

(I'm waiting for universal agreement, you know.)

What about when you're in a program, doing a craft, everybody's doing the same craft. And you're almost the only person who actually lets the kids do the project themselves.

Instead, not only are other people assisting their kids... and doing major parts (like drawing the faces and whatnot) for their kids... but you hear repeated comments of the vein of "Here, I'll let you do this part" and "No, you can't use that color, you have to use this one" and "Your lollypop has to have swirls like Miss April's does - see?"

By the last one, I always want to jump up and interject that just because you don't have a creative bone in your body, there's no need to inflict that on your innocent children.

In fact, I might just mention to April that she should be firmer that her example piece is just a suggestion and does not need to be religiously followed.

(I say I let the kids do the work themselves (though I do control Evangeline's glue, because she still will put it in her mouth), but even that wasn't enough for Angelique. She now refuses to sit next to me and will only come to me for help after trying and failing to do something critical several times. I try to view this as a positive development, but really, I feel snubbed.)

Edit: It'd irritate me anyway, you should know - but it *really* irritates me now that I see Angelique really developing her creativity. Like, they did scarecrows. I "let her" do it herself (unlike just about EVERYBODY ELSE THERE). Surprise, hers didn't look as "good as" theirs - but it was the only one with a backstory of "He's crying, because he's sad that he hasn't scared any crows yet". The only one without a smile, in fact. Or when we all did our candy corn, she crumpled up the tissue paper before gluing it on. And people go up to her and say how creative it is, but they don't seem to get that their kid could (and would) do it too, if only they were allowed to, and it makes me sad.

(Talking about art, today Angelique drew a picture of a pumpkin and what was apparently a ghost. I told her how to spell BOO and demonstrated a B for her ("I know how to do a o already, Connie!"), but she wrote the word all by herself, including an exclamation point, after I explained it meant shouting. Accordingly, the B only looks like a B if you know that's what it's supposed to be and kinda squint, but it's the same thing. What, am I going to save this picture for the rest of her life so I can say with pride "I drew that for her when she was only four"? What does she learn that way?)

Comments

[fjorab-teke.livejournal.com]

Argh, only if there's a safety concern or the kid really DOES need/want assistance, should it be insisted upon.

The people who stunted my own artistic growth were "professional art teachers". One was in elementary school, and the other was in college.

In elementary school, one of our projects was a "futuristic scene." One of my elements was a huge TV bulletin board. He told me I needed to be more realistic than that. Um, we pretty much have those now, don't we? I'm not saying that someday we won't be relying mostly on hovercraft type automobiles, but he overly encouraged scenes with those. And by the time I was in third grade, I drew most animals far better than he did.

Then the college professor was just creepy and stuffy, and it didn't help that the class was too early in the morning for any creativity to flow from me. Only one piece came out really well (of our overused nude figures), and the face had a distinct "I don't want to be here" scowl. He graded it low because it "didn't have enough contrast." I had a friend who had another class in the same room, and when I dropped the class I told her to go into my drawer and throw everything away that she didn't want.

So even for an artist, that's no way to boost creativity or self-assurance.

[conuly]

Argh, only if there's a safety concern or the kid really DOES need/want assistance, should it be insisted upon.

Exactly.