After so many years of teaching, I think that working with the kids by seeing them as artists, from an Artist’s point of view (as much if not more as the Teacher point of view) is most successful. Embracing the chaos as pathways to creativity. Here is a fantastic article about this that came up today on FB. I may have posted it before, but it is worth rereading. WIll send it along to my colleagues later on today. Creativity is messy mentally as well as with physical materials! Note to self…
Sadly I can feel my own artist’s brain receding in the tide of all the students that need feeding. New ideas, new structures for learning and expanding concepts, new ways to look at their work to find the most worthy evidence of learning. Missing my threads, and beads already.
On the health front I am starting it dip into the “BTS RA Flare Up” with the legs telling me they do not approve of the concrete floors, and the overall body craving comatose, open-ended sleep. It is normal for me to experience this and while sleep is elusive, too, I am grateful for the long weekend to catch up a bit. Sometimes I wonder what a non-pain filled person would experience if they were suddenly put in my body. What would their reaction be? Facial expression? Activity level? I look fine on the outside, so the outrageous burning, slashing, stabbing, and zinging pain that accompanies me from wake-up to bedtime is my little secret. Maybe that is why I write about it on this blog.
Today in class a really sweet 7th grader, brand new to the school today, approached me at the end of class and said “Excuse me, Ms. Ropple, but does your foot hurt? It looks like it is broken and your toes are all funny.” At first I was shocked -- how would a kid even notice such a detail? I wasn’t limping any worse than usual -- actually walking pretty well these days! When I heard the honesty in his curiosity and concern, I wanted to melt. From the mouths of babes came an acknowledgement that I never hear at work. I smiled and said I was fine, and as a reluctant spokesperson for RA awareness just said “You are such a kind and caring person. I’m in pain but it is fine and I am used to it. It is all part of an autoimmune disease called Rheumatoid Arthritis that causes things like this to happen. Thank you for being so kind.” I wonder what the other kids think and don’t say...hmmm… All I know is that they are the nicest group of kids and they are the best medicine anyone can have. Having a positive and meaningful purpose in the world is great panacea to anything this freaking disease can toss at me.
Hanging out with my friend’s son after school today until she gets out of work. Yay! So looking forward to hearing about his first two days of school and everything else. Love that little guy!
For an art link today, here is the website of artist Rosa Vera, a Peruvian-born artist that incorporates fabric into her mixed media work. While focusing mostly on human figures, I love her crow pieces -- she has handled what has become a trite subject these days in a beautiful, expressive, and natural one. Nice! Onward, cheers.