To the Parents

I had a revelation last week. It might not seem a great one to many but personally it has added to my development as a teacher, my awareness of the child's learning as a whole and not just in the class...the Whole Child - what I was fundamentally interested in back in my PGCE days. 

It has occurred to me that that these inspired, imaginative, wonderfully wacky, mostly so un-selfconscious little artists that are in my classroom might not feel so inspired and imaginative and wacky and un-selfconscious when they leave the 'art room'. I have just assumed they carry this with them to the home and if the inspiration grabs them, they'll get their crayons and paints and glue and deal with what's in their mind. 

However.

We attempted to make papier mâché bowls last week in year 4. It worked last year, somehow we all struggled a bit this year. Not a problem. We made it an evaluation lesson. This was invaluable actually and I'm glad it happened. Especially for our little perfectionists (including yours truly).

 

I did make (a mistake in hindsight I wonder) the decision to let the kids take their newspaper bowl home and try and do something with it, resurrect it, build on it, start again....basically see this through. The parents' reactions didn't even occur to me. Until one texted me a photo of the thin newspaper rough bowl-shape his daughter had made, 'jokingly' saying that the new art room [with the new school build] couldn't come soon enough.

And that's when it hit me. Any inspiration or motivation for some children stops at the school gates when the parents ask what on earth is that and the child's self-consciousness flames up and they are unable to express what they want to do with their art, their creation. In class most of them were excited about doing something with it at home and I bet none of them have. I'd sent most of these kids home with some scrappy papier mâché with the incentive that they could fix it and be inspired to do something. I forgot someone could be in the car or at the door going wtf is THAT? And this poor child trying to explain. She's just going to put it in the bin. Which child is strong enough to tell them to keep hold of it, they have plans for it.  Maybe one, possible two in that class. And so begins the downward spiral of forever squished creativity and unconsidered self esteem levels.

No wonder adults don't get out their crayons anymore. I have actually seen it in process now. And once it leaves my art room, what can I do? I have no other help to continually boost these kids' creativity and imaginative processes once they put down my paintbrushes. Maybe the grown-ups have little confidence. As Picasso said:

Please, parents, art is just as important to your child's development, not only academic but spiritual and creatively. She may not need it in the career you're seeing her in but she will need mental release and self expression and the space and confidence in which to do this. So what if she brings home a crunchy indescript piece of paper, to you that's what it is. To her she sees colours and shapes and connections, it's art, ideas and thoughts...it's HERS. Bite your tongue. Watch her do something with it, watch her plan, watch her work, watch her think, inspire her yourself if she's stuck, let her reach an outcome of her own, take a photograph before and of the finished article and then you can be done with it, content in the knowledge you have let your child see a plan through to the end. The journey is just as important as the destination. Give them the time and space and above all belief and encouragement to show you what their vision is. Maybe this is all you need to get your crayons back out after all this time...

Pablo and Paloma Picasso: Why not get arty WITH your child?

It's not what they've brought home, that is the final product. Art should never end in my class, let them continue it in their home space. Let them get messy. Let them invent and create. These are the industrial designers, inventors and thinkers of our future society, remember...they need their brains expanded!

I know he's not an artist. Or in primary school. But as a parent I always try and think like Michio Kaku's Mum: