Mela Wasilewski: Blog I

What is your teaching experience so far?

My teaching experience so far has been positive. There were three groups of 6 and one group of 8 students on the first day. So they all didn’t have to go at once since there wouldn’t have been enough room at the table. Everyone was listening well, but I do think that I need to be more stern and be louder. I did scold some kids and told them to keep working. For the first day I know we didn’t do much but we got to know each other and made nametags so I can get to know the students/kids. The groups of 6 kids each had a mix of kids that were rowdy but still did their work well and finished the nametags. The group of 8 had a harder time staying on task since they were the group that had to finish before everyone could go outside. Nonetheless they still had to take their time.

 

What are you looking forward to about the class you will be teaching?

I am looking forward to teaching this class because I'll be getting to teach children about art. The children I work with make art because they choose to come to my class. Some children are the same each time, some are not. I also look forward to teaching them that art helps show self-expression. With the projects, I want the class to see my take on the project and make their own. Meaning they should not copy mine. I want to see what they can do with their own minds.

 

I am also looking forward to working with different mediums for this practicum. In the last practicum I had only worked with watercolor. Basing projects off only watercolor was kind of a challenge. It was a wonderful learning experience, but I am glad I can teach a wider variety this time.

 

What do you hope to learn/gain from this experience?

I want to learn how to manage a classroom with children of all different ages. I can understand how each age group learns that way. I want to see how each grade level progresses and different the levels of development. I also want children to know that art has many purposes. Some that are important are: creative and expressive.  Art is a lot of work but can pay off in the end. When working on a project for weeks and being proud of it is a good feeling.  I want to be able to do that for my students. This experience will help me with my future career. I say this will help me one day because I will see so many different age groups in Art Therapy. I want to be able to help as many people as I can with art. I want to make a difference, to help others express themselves.