Earlier this week I had a colleague stop by to grab a student in the midst of my ART 8 class. She had the opportunity to be in my room for 2-3 minutes before leaving and saying to me, " It's like you're right back in your kindergarten room, isn't it?" I laughed and smiled as I looked out to my room where the paint was covering paper (and some tables), piles of paint brushes were stacked waiting to be cleaned and each of my 28 artists were working at 28 different points of progress. As I fondly remembered back to my days of teaching kindergarten (some of these same kids being in my very room back then as well), I told my colleague, "It is and I wouldn't have it any other way. "
My classroom is messy and loud. I have to repeat directions- over and over and over- some days because that is the nature of having a truly individualized room and others out of necessity of working with the middle school age group. My kids have freedom within the confines of non-negotiable classroom norms. There are piles of materials, untidy floors, shelves upon shelves of works in progress, materials and paper and large paintings in progress on our cabinets. To the untrained eye (thank goodness my administrator's eye is thoroughly trained) it looks like a disaster area. But I can assure you that my room is quite the opposite. Each student enters my room and knows exactly which shelf, pile and stack is their's. Each class knows exactly which area holds their materials for the current project. I can tell you without even being in my art room exactly where every single item is (which is something I do quite often).
My point is that my room is organized chaos- we love it! My kids love it, thrive on it and need it. In a time where our students are scheduled to the extreme with activities, school and social activities, my classroom is a retreat. My kids often tell me they love to come to my room, they feel more relaxed, more like they have a say. In no way, shape or form am I saying that we, as educators, need to loosen our classroom reigns (my science room is strictly run on routines). But for those that just don't get it about arts education, this is one of the MANY benefits. For those that liken my room to kindergarten or cringe at the vision that came to you as you read this, I urge you remember how happy our students were coming home from kindergarten. I am happy to give a piece of that enthusiasm back.
My classroom is messy and loud. I have to repeat directions- over and over and over- some days because that is the nature of having a truly individualized room and others out of necessity of working with the middle school age group. My kids have freedom within the confines of non-negotiable classroom norms. There are piles of materials, untidy floors, shelves upon shelves of works in progress, materials and paper and large paintings in progress on our cabinets. To the untrained eye (thank goodness my administrator's eye is thoroughly trained) it looks like a disaster area. But I can assure you that my room is quite the opposite. Each student enters my room and knows exactly which shelf, pile and stack is their's. Each class knows exactly which area holds their materials for the current project. I can tell you without even being in my art room exactly where every single item is (which is something I do quite often).
My point is that my room is organized chaos- we love it! My kids love it, thrive on it and need it. In a time where our students are scheduled to the extreme with activities, school and social activities, my classroom is a retreat. My kids often tell me they love to come to my room, they feel more relaxed, more like they have a say. In no way, shape or form am I saying that we, as educators, need to loosen our classroom reigns (my science room is strictly run on routines). But for those that just don't get it about arts education, this is one of the MANY benefits. For those that liken my room to kindergarten or cringe at the vision that came to you as you read this, I urge you remember how happy our students were coming home from kindergarten. I am happy to give a piece of that enthusiasm back.