mel jacobson on sun 19 aug 12
i think, well, i know that working with a batch of
kids with clay, is the highest form of learning there is.
the problem solving is wonderful, hands are full of clay,
\it is real world experience.
for any art teacher/clay teacher that thinks they just
have to throw out the clay..and it will teach you...is the
most insane form of teaching.
it is my biggest beef.
you engage, get next to, interact with and support the student.
you stay with them, in the class room. get all the clay they need
and watch the magic.
it is demo, demo, demo..then they do it.
demo, demo, demo, and they do it some more.
older kids support young kids.
it is like a grandma holding a five year old and reading. things happen.
many in higher education in art do not do that.
they are `above that`. i see and hear about it all the time.
my adult former students write me with the stories...my apprentice
quit college because of it. that is how i got her with me.
the teacher said...`i don't like teaching freshman, so here is
the clay and some wheels, figure it out`..and he left the classroom
not to return for a week.
she was livid. she walked out and never returned.
and, he was paid to teach that way? he was worth nothing...should
be fired. but, will be there for another twenty years, doing the same
lame job.
when teaching art and craft it is critical to demo, explain, work with
and show them how to do it...then turn them loose. then explain some
\more. it is the most vital teaching system in the world. kids and adults
blossom with this sort of education. i have never understood the theory
that basics are suppose to be done in high school and never at university
level...that is sheer arrogant, lazy crap.
there are marvelous teachers of art and craft out there...wonderful\
examples of fine education...but we are loaded with oafs that do not
care and only pick up a check. balance has to be restored before education
can move forward.
why anyone would want a tenure track job and not like kids, or the
interaction of self and student is beyond me. it is like a foreign languag=
e
from the inner congo. i just don't get it. kelly just explained how
it is done by her...it works.
colleen was thrown more theory, skill and technique in the first two weeks
with me than she had ever known excised. and she mastered it just as
fast. but, she was educated, shown and taught. and like the string
of champion divers i coached...`we did it mel's way, and only mel's way.`
serious consistency is how it works. look at the chinese divers, that is
how they do it. (do you think pc coaching works in coaching in china? neve=
r.
and that technique can be done with compassion.)
mel
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart page below:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
http://www.21stcenturykilns.com/
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