All artwork in this post is created by former Give Up KidsArt Teacher: “Why are you offtask? Please get to work on your assignment.”
Student: “Why am I even in Art?I don’t know how to draw! I’m not good at Art; I shouldn’t be here!”
Art Teacher: “Drawing is askill, and just like any skill you have to learnhow to do it. You had to learn skills to become good at basketball, right?Drawing is like that. Here. Let me show you.”
The above is a conversation Art teachers have all had (some of usfrequently) with students. Typically,because of schemas, it is middle school and high school aged students whom seemto have the most anxiety about being in Art class, but it drawing drama impactselementary classrooms too. It says something about the nature of our educationsystems that students understand core subjects (Mathematics, Language Arts,Science, and Social Studies) are studies wherein they must continually buildskill sets to advance. Yet, students inarts classes (Drama, Music, and Visual Arts) firmly believe they must have someinherent talent in order to not only succeed, but even competently participate. Even Physical Education, which is oftenafforded the same backhanded respect as the Arts, is understood as subjectwherein everyone can at least participate if not compete.
As Arts educators we can continue to lament this unfortunatemisunderstanding that devalues our classrooms, subjects, and careers. . . Or,we can stand up, empower ourselves, and be a part of the change needed to notonly encourage our students but to also protect Arts education.
Okay. I know. That statement sounds like a dramatic rally cry doesn’tit? But, truthfully? Art is rapidlydisappearing and some of it is due to devaluation. At the same time, craft supply stores seemalmost recession-proof, and music is shared and heard in manner un-paralleledin human existence.
Arts education is disappearingin a world whose inhabitants refuse to live without Art. And, that is aproblem. . . Our problem to solve.
Part of this solution is empowering the “Give Up Kid.”
So, what do you do when get the Give Up Kid? You know, the student who is overwhelmed bythe task of required learning Art? Whose parents aren’t invested in Artseducation? Who doesn’t believe s/hereally needs art?
We teach them. We teach them Art is a series of skills enhanced byinherent talent, but for which no special gift is required to enjoy. We teachthem to appreciate and recognize Art in the world. We teach them how to use themost powerful muscle they have, their brain, through creative exercises designedto help them in all facets of life.
And, THAT, paragraph sounds really good, doesn’t it? At our core, it is what we do. . . But, as teachers, we all know the reality is muchmore challenging, frustrating, and gritty. It isn’t easy to help the Give Up Kid; they have years of priorexperience underscoring their false statements.
Here are a few of my tips for empowering the Give Up Kid:
1. Get toknow the student. Getting to knowthe student doesn’t have to difficult or timely. Simply, ask a few questionsabout his/her likes and dislikes. Identify what his/her interests are. This will help you build a bridge ofcommunication.
2. Sit withthe student. . .All students really. I make it a practice during studiotime in my classroom (independent working time) to pick a different table everyday and sit for about 5 minutes just talking with the students. It sounds a little radical to sit in theclassroom, since we are all taught a sitting teacher isn’t teaching. But, weall know there are moments when you can sit; especially if your classroom managementstructures in sitting time. My students are familiar with my practice ofsitting and visiting. They know if they have a question during that time, allthey have to do is ask me to come over and/or visit me. While I sit with a table I pick up and participatein whatever conversation the students are having; it isn’t always aboutart. Sometimes, I’ll share a funny storyabout myself etc. etc. I can’t tell youhow much my students love this; they all beg for me to sit at their table. And, this practice has been a key part of reachingdozens of Give Up Kids through the years. If you feel sitting would never work for yourclassroom management style, just stand near the table and speak with the students.It isn’t exactly the same; doesn’t engender the same familiarity. But, it willstill be helpful.
3. Don’tmake it a practice to draw on student artwork and/or “help” by drawing a fewlines for the Give Up Kid (or any student). The schema of middle school students is that realistic looking art isgood art. This begins to change in highschool, but many students remain stuck in the realism = good art place. These students frequently ask for “help” whenthey mean “draw for me.” They don’t careif they drew the work or not, as long as when it is finished it looks realisticand “good.” I have been amused manytimes through the years to see students complete work that was primarily doneby me (or another student) and still feel it is “their” art. The problem iswhen you draw –even in small parts- for a student, it reinforces the idea thatdrawing is a special skill reserved for the uniquely talented. It also doesn’t give students the opportunityto work on their drawing skills and become better.
4. Makereference how-to sheets. Lots and lots of reference sheets. If you aren’t drawing on a student’s paper,it can be hard to help. One easy way toovercome this Give Up Kid’s desire to say “I don’t know how!” is to providehim/her with reference material designed to self-lead. It is important toprovide multiple types of references within the same project, because you don’twant art class to become formulaic. Itseems as if I am forever making class sets of how-to this/that/other. They are really valuable resources since Ican ask students to refer to the sheet, and students who need help canindependently seek aid themselves. Atthe same time, I put the caveat “This isonly one way to draw [item]; there are many ways to draw [item]; none are “right”and none are “wrong.”
5. Make timefor a little one-on-one guided drawing. In my experience, the Give Up Kid hasn’t had many opportunities forart-making in his/her life. Part of thereason s/he doesn’t like art class is because s/he is intimidated. You know that moment when you say: “If you don’t do any work, you won’t get agrade, and you’ll fail the course” and the student just shrugs and says somethinglike “fine with me?” The student isscared that his/her work will be so inferior that s/he will be the subject ofteasing and shame. Since pre-teens andteenagers are driven by group perception, they would rather do nothing andfail, than try and be anything less than near-perfect. Discretely find an opportunity to do aside-by-side guided drawing exercise with the student. It sounds really elementary and embarrassing,but I’ve never once had a student refuse; they actually seem to appreciate theattention. Typically, I’ll make the guided drawing as simple as possible so thestudent has the opportunity for maximum success. After the guided drawing, I’llinstruct them to apply it to their work; they always do. Sometimes, you just have to take a stepbackward and provide the Give Up Kid with a taste of the elementary, empoweringexperience of art that they missed.
6. Praisehonestly and realistically. It isimportant to recognize the development of the Give Up Kid’s skills, but don’toverdo it. Students aren’t adept atrecognizing that you are encouraging someone who was/is previouslydiscouraged. And, sometimes, instead of appreciatingthe work of their peer, they will offer unasked for criticism: “What? Mine is way better and you haven’tsaid anything about it!” Recognize thespecific skills the Give Up Kid has developed and speak to them; don’t damnwith false praise.
7. Displaywork with caution. It is a big dealfor my students’ art to “make it to the wall.” I’m discriminate. But, I don’tsimply display the best or strongest artwork. I try to demonstrate the artworkdisplaying success for individual students. But, you have to be careful. the Give Up Kid has a fragile confidenceabout any new-found ability or skill. Displaying artwork that isn’t very strong, yet demonstrates success forthe artist runs the risk of high criticism. Remember, middle and high school students aren’t known for thinkingbefore speaking. If the peers perceive TheGive Up Kid’s artwork as being inferior to the other artworks and say so where theGive Up Kid can hear it, you have a major setback. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t display thework of the Give Up Kid; often, s/he is thrilled to have work on the wall. But, you should be exercise caution.
8. Use your classroom management plan to meteout healthy doses of consequences. We all need a little religion asmotivation from time to time. I callhome, get other teachers involved, and seek the aid/support of the administrationwhen attempting to empower the Give Up Kid. My aim is not to punish the Give Up Kid because that will lead to discouragement.Instead, it is important for the Give Up Kid to know that I will do anything andeverything ethically within my abilities to help him/her achieve success. As a student once said: “I don’t mess withMs. J., she is, like, everywhere.” *Also, a bit of advice: When contacting parents, pretend you are acustomer service representative. If theparents believe you to be a nice, caring, teacher who sees the best in his/herstudent, they will back you each and every time. If they see you as an overlycritical nuisance who is sick of dealing with their child, then they willundermine your authority (this could be its own blog post!)*
I’m interested. What do you do to help the Give Up Kid?
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