Talented Kids :)

             My practicum this semester is at the Dorman High School (freshman campus). I work with a wide variety of students. Many students in the beginning level of art, in high school, are in the class only to get their credit for graduation. There are only a handful of high school students that actually want to be in the art classroom and put effort into their work. This is very discouraging for someone like me, who is very passionate about art and passionate about teaching art. I get extremely excited to work with those high school kids that really love art and want to be there. Working at COLORS is like having a classroom full of those excited high school artists. Most of the kids that come to COLORS really want to be there and have artistic freedom. COLORS doesn't stress having structured lessons. I've been trained to always have lessons prepared, so this is a challenge for me to just let the kids do what they want. I'm learning to let loose and shed some of my structure. I still sneak in lessons when the kids don't realize it. I'm just so incredibly happy to have kids come to the COLORS studio that want to be there, and want to learn about art.
              The COLORS studio is such a creative environment for young students to come and get one on one attention. In a normal classroom at a public school, the teacher has about 20 or more other students to give attention to. In the studio at the CCC (Chapman Cultural Center), and at our various outreach sites, young artist can come and get individualized attention and help with any medium or subject matter they can think of. For example, the group that comes to visit on Mondays from the Boys and Girls Club, are mostly girls about the age of 7. All of the girls are interested in Barbie, Hello Kitty, and other toys and cartoons. They have the freedom to draw, paint, or sculpt any of those subjects, and I am there to help them. Many of them are like most young students and don't even know where to begin. I have a small enough group to spend some time with each girl and individual teach her proper drawing techniques. Its not the typical subject matter that students are encouraged to depict in public schools, but I still have the opportunity to teach them the same skills. I personally believe that they are grasping the concept much better because they enjoy what they are drawing. They're enthusiasm is what gets me excited to become an art teacher and is why I chose this field. 

This is a picture of Jose's drawing. He is a third grade student that comes to our outreach site at the Boiling Springs Resource Center on Wednesday afternoons. He found a picture of a German Shepard and drew it by looking at the picture of the real dog. The dog house and soccer ball are from his imagination. He is always excited to come to COLORS and enjoys art very much. I look forward to students like Jose.