6thGrader had to pick electives for school this year. His choices were a full year of P.E., Band or Art, or a half-year of P.E., Art, Dance, or Research. He didn't want to do P.E., Band or Dance, so when we marked his schedule choices, he had to put four 1/2 year choices, so we put Research, Research, Research, and Art. He was placed in Art for the first semester's elective.
6thGrader isn't much of an artist, but he does enjoy doing clay and other tactile forms of art. But drawing is his "worst nightmare." And of course 6th grade art starts with drawing. We talked with his Art teacher about just getting through it and on to the next project, and she was making progress with him. But then she became ill and was out for 2 1/2 weeks.
And thus the parade of substitutes. Things spiralled downward very rapidly for 6thGrader and I got the dreaded call from the Guidance office. We've been talking back and forth for the last week and a half and today, when the phone rang, I recognized the number. Ay yi yi! You don't ever want to recognize the school's phone number.
It was the guidance office calling to let me know that 6thGrader was being transferred out of Art and into Guidance Aide for the rest of the semester. 6thGrader asked the counselor if she would please call his mom because he was tired of me asking him how Art was every day.
So his Art woes are over. He'll work in the guidance office for the rest of the semester, doing errands or office tasks, studying, reading, or other things that are productive. He's a lucky boy that the teachers and counselors at his school were willing to figure something out for him.
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6 comments:
Speaking on behalf of two boys who are absolutely art-less, that's the kind of school I want! A school that recognizes the strengths and weaknesses of each child, and designs a program that works for them! Your boy must be so relieved - and I bet you are happy to no longer have to worry about the dreaded guidance calls about Arts class. All in all, a good day :)
That's too bad he doesn't like the art but at least the are willing to work with him. As an artist who can't draw a stick figure I can understand the situation he's in.
Hope he enjoys his alternatives better!
As an artist (who also has her K-12 art teacher certification, even if I've never actually taught art after my student teaching) it makes me sad that the teacher(s) made it such an unhappy experience for him. Art class should not be so rigid, it should be more about self expression and exposure to different mediums and styles, and a less about doing it "right". But don't get me started :-)
I had a similar (but opposite) experience my senior year in high school. It was a private school that I went to for my junior and senior year and instead of gym we had 3 hours of sports each afternoon (we picked a different sport each trimester with a winter option of doing drama or art instead). I was so bad at sports (I had a really good high fly ball tennis swing) that a few weeks into my senior year the phys ed teacher and head of school "released" me from the sports requirement and allowed me to take art classes every afternoon instead. I was thrilled!
The art class does offer a variety of techniques and mediums to be explored during the semester. In fact, for 7th and 8th graders, they pretty much pick what medium they want to do for the semester and do several projects in the medium of their choice.
Unfortunately for 6thGrader, they still want to expose the kids to a variety (and 6thGrader has had 6 years of Art from elem. school so he's been exposed and knows what he likes and doesn't, but that's not the case for the other two elem schools that feed to the middle school), and also unfortunately for him, they started with drawing which is one medium he does not like.
The first project was supposed to be a two-week project, draw 10 animals, color them and then mount them onto a background. The only real restriction was they could not be "cartoonish or stick animals" but had to be somewhat realistic. Unfortunately the art teacher became ill and missed 2 1/2 weeks and that brought in a series of substitutes. The art teacher had been working with 6thGrader to modify his assignment but in her absence, things just didn't happen for 6thGrader. He hated being there and of course the project assignment lasted for more than a week longer than the teacher had intended, so the class didn't get to move on to the next medium.
So the combination of factors led to the need for 6thGrader to be transferred out. We didn't ask for a transfer but the guidance counselor (with our permission) recommended he be moved out of Art.
I'm glad to hear that he no longer had to suffer in Art class! Those bad school experiences have a way of making an indelible mark on the young psyche.
My boy never really took to art either. I remember his JK teacher sending home colouring to be completed at home, with a note that read, "He hates colouring! He tries to negotiate his way out of it, daily!"
Thank goodness your school is sensitive to recognize when a child is hating something, and offer them an alternative.
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