April 13th

Today, the students did more slab rolling. They had made paper templates of their designs for the clay containers they were making. Each student took apart their templates and used the cut-outs of paper as stencils on the slabs of clay. They were cutting out slabs and attaching them using the joints (slip and score) that they had learned in the last class period I attended. The teacher showed them how to pop air bubbles, "like pimples," which got a laugh out of the students. I walked around and helped students who were behind on their templates, as well as the students who were beginning to cut out their slabs. Some students were having difficulty measuring the sides of their templates to match and fit together. I had to help them understand that the clay would be thicker than the paper and that this would throw off their measurements. One particular student was very hard for me to reach. He raised his hand and had a question about how to measure his container. He described a very complex idea to me, which I could not understand with the way that he was describing it. It did not make sense, and it was very difficult for me to communicate with him. The more I asked him to explain himself, the more frustrated he became. Defeated, I had him talk to the teacher about his design. I was completely unsure of what to do for him. I could not answer his question if he could not explain his idea to me clearly. If this was my own classroom, I would have said that if his idea is too complex to explain, it is too complex to make. Some of the students in this age group have grand ideas, but not the resources to pull it off. I don't like to hinder their ideas, but some things are just too difficult to attain in the middle school art classroom and there is only so much time to complete the projects. Many of the students had hearts in their designs. I noticed this in the last group of students as well. If this were my classroom, I would consider somehow downplaying or eliminating this cliche form, simply to challenge the students and keep them from taking the easy way out. I would have high expectations for their ideas and expressions of individuality. I would ask them questions such as, "What other forms can symbolize love?" "Is the act of making this clay container an expression of love to begin with?" "Is a heart necessary in communicating a like or love for something?"