Conference

Returning student "C" is working at below potential, she behaves silly to fit in with her friends, it seems she wants so badly to belong to the crowd. Today, I finally pulled her aside when she showed me her second hasty and simple solution with her thumbnail. Student "K" said you sound angry, and I told her it was a voice of concern since that group was having a difficult time settling down and the next step would be to separate all of them. They heard this, their heads went down and they began to work again.

I showed student "C" the quality of work (other exemplars) that I knew she is capable of, and requested she make the choice of maximizing herself, celebrate herself, and be proud of her creativity and talent, true friends love her, and are happy for her accomplishments (yes the pulpit stuff). I shared with her how dissapointed I was because I already know how capable and strong she is as an artist. Her face changed to that of hearing beyond listening, and she gave me a nod of acceptance. This is just before I had to call for clean up so I look forward to tomorrow to see if this transaction has an impact both on her and the table.

The easy thing is to move and separate the friends. At this age, kids need to know how to make choices, to follow the crowd, to be strong within themselves - taking the high road, and see how they have an impact on shaping others, having the power to choose to be shaped by others. I truly want this to be a lesson in choice. Students in the art room are here to expand themselves beyond creative visual problem solving.