Making Impressions

 
In my training as an art educator, a materials-based approach was stressed. This is the notion that different materials provide different experiences and accomplish different learning objectives. The one objective that is constant in all art experiences is problem solving. At some point, the child looks at what the teacher has placed in front of him or her and asks themselves, "How do I use these?" The next question is, "How do I use these...to make what I want?" This is why exploration is so important- allowing children to handle materials, get frustrated, try again, and experience true success.

And as the teacher, watching closely and knowing when to interject with some helpful words, and when to hold back. This is why teaching is an art. It's knowing when, how, and what to say. It takes lots of practice, you can do it your whole life and still not perfect it, it's impossible to get it right every time, but that's what keeps it interesting.

How does this relate to today? On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I spend the day with Kitah Gimmel. This morning at the art center, the table was set with a bowl of chunky crayons with the paper peeled off, texture rubbing plates (like this), and white paper.

Iyar sat down, placed a paper on top of the plate, and moved her crayon across the paper. She happily made spiraling lines on the paper, holding the crayon in the traditional vertical grip. She paused for a moment and seemed to be thinking of what to do next.

Seeing a good moment to join the process, I pointed out that these crayons have the paper peeled off, and I wonder what would happen if you held them sideways, with your thumb on the bottom, pointer and middle finger on the top, and moved them over the paper this way?

  

Iyar tried it and was delighted with the results. She started out holding the paper still with her left "helper hand," and then began turning it around and around as she colored. "I'm making a rainbow!" she said. 

I watched her make a few more rubbings, trying different colors and different techniques before moving on to the next station. 

What do we learn from this seemingly small encounter? That school is one big conversation between the teacher and student; The teacher can "teach"- show or tell how to do something- but it only becomes meaningful through the child's interpretation.