Today was my first official day of teaching.  I was nervous at the thought of teaching to strangers so I figured I would spend the first day getting to know one another.  I came up with the human pictionary game and thought it would be fun if the students got up and moved around the class.  I paired them  up by splitting compound words into two cards.  The partners must find each other with the other half of their compound word.

I met resistance right from the beginning.  Many thought it was a pointless exercise and felt that the relation to art was not there.  Many disliked getting off their seats to walk around.  It seemed to me that physical movement was nonexistent in all their classes except PE.  The idea of moving around the classroom to mingle with others is a foreign concept.  Many felt that matching the compound words was pointless.  I had to explain to them that my intention is to get them to talk to others in the class.  I then had the pairs draw three things  about themselves.  Their partner was to introduce them by interpreting their drawings.  The most common answer I received was that they enjoyed “sleeping”.  Surprise surprise!  Most of the students were very shy and used extremely quiet voices when talking about their partner.

After the icebreaker, I proceeded to outline my classroom expectations and the upcoming projects.  One class was extremely enthusiastic and the other was very low energy or uninterested.  My challenge will be to motivate all my students.  I fear that they will find my style of teaching to be mundane, too conceptual based, and too boring.  I want them to think.  Art in high school consisted of projects that talked around concepts without delving into them.  Often times, these projects were very surface based.  The assignments and activities that I present to them are meant to challenge their preconceived notions of art education.  I strive for meaningful art education.

I did make a few mistakes.  The icebreaker was missing a card by the time I facilitated it with my second class.  I also wasn’t sure how to handle students who did not want to participate.  Some refused to listen and several were falling asleep.  Several admitted they disliked school in general.  How do I talk to these students without pushing them away?  I really hope that with my passion for art and life, I can break down these walls.