Sammy Shuford on mon 11 sep 00
Hey Liz, Can I cut and paste your email and show others? You make one good
statement about HOW TO TEACH!
Thanks
----- Original Message -----
From: priddy
To:
Sent: Monday, September 11, 2000 6:45 PM
Subject: drawing, teaching, learning
mel jacobson wrote:
> we have been living in a time when far to many people want
> to just get on with their own thing. teach kids to just have `fun`.
> be free. in the long run it has never paid off. the human spirit
> wants purpose, wants to do things and then be commended for a
> job well done. if you have no skill, the job will not be well done.
the kids know better than their parents.
the parents just want their little darlings egos to be massaged and for them
to "experience" clay.
The reason my classes had waiting lists when I lived in civilization and
taught at a craft center: I introduced standards to the kids in terms they
could understand and gave them the means to achieve it!
here was a typical first class:
after explaining how to handle ware, I asked them to go to the boards of
finished work and bring me a good pot and a bad pot. Since they were not
their pots yet, they had no ego problems.
We went round the table and each one described what was good or bad about
each
of the ones they chose.
After that I asked them, "so what is true about a good pot and what is true
about a bad pot?"
They gave more honest and rational answers than most of what I have ever
heard
from adults, no matter what the background.
Then I ask them, "what will your grandma or mother do with your pot if you
give it to her?"
invariably: "Keep it and show it off!"
"How long?" I ask.
invariably: "forever, she'd never give my pot away..."
"And so should you make a good pot or a bad pot?", me
"Oh, a good pot, for sure", them
"And we all know what makes a good pot now, right?", me
"Yes!"
And they proceed to make much better pots than the ones they pulled from the
racks of finished work done by the three adult classes.
>From the mouths of babes, most of them under ten.
You just have to trust them, and listen.
Elizabeth
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priddy on mon 11 sep 00
mel jacobson wrote:
> we have been living in a time when far to many people want
> to just get on with their own thing. teach kids to just have `fun`.
> be free. in the long run it has never paid off. the human spirit
> wants purpose, wants to do things and then be commended for a
> job well done. if you have no skill, the job will not be well done.
the kids know better than their parents.
the parents just want their little darlings egos to be massaged and for t=
hem
to "experience" clay.
The reason my classes had waiting lists when I lived in civilization and
taught at a craft center: I introduced standards to the kids in terms the=
y
could understand and gave them the means to achieve it!
here was a typical first class:
after explaining how to handle ware, I asked them to go to the boards of
finished work and bring me a good pot and a bad pot. Since they were not=
their pots yet, they had no ego problems. =
We went round the table and each one described what was good or bad about=
each
of the ones they chose. =
After that I asked them, "so what is true about a good pot and what is tr=
ue
about a bad pot?"
They gave more honest and rational answers than most of what I have ever =
heard
from adults, no matter what the background.
Then I ask them, "what will your grandma or mother do with your pot if yo=
u
give it to her?"
invariably: "Keep it and show it off!"
"How long?" I ask.
invariably: "forever, she'd never give my pot away..."
"And so should you make a good pot or a bad pot?", me
"Oh, a good pot, for sure", them
"And we all know what makes a good pot now, right?", me
"Yes!"
And they proceed to make much better pots than the ones they pulled from =
the
racks of finished work done by the three adult classes.
=46rom the mouths of babes, most of them under ten.
You just have to trust them, and listen.
Elizabeth
____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=3D=
1
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