Last week I subbed in a large class with another long-term
sub. For part of the day we also
had an aide (what a blessing, most classes I’m in do not have this). I was thrilled to have the extra hands,
although part-way through the day I started to witness little moments that were
bothering me: condescending remarks to the kids, chastising the wrong kid when
a few weren’t getting along, etc.
But this moment stuck the longest: The kids were given a
color-by-number Santa head to color.
It was boring. There were
only three colors involved, one of them being white (and might I add, the
largest portion of the picture).
First off, most of the kids couldn’t read, so didn’t get the
color-by-number concept anyways.
Secondly, there were only two
colors for the kids to use. Again,
boring. Not to mention there
weren’t enough of these particular two colors (red and “peach”… when have you
seen a peach crayon?) for each child.
So most of them began doing their own thing, coloring Santa
how they saw fit. Fair
enough. And might I add, the
results were fascinating. I didn’t
interrupt the kids. It was nearing
the end of the day, they were happy and engaged… good enough for me. I could care less if they didn’t color
Santa the “right” way.
I was alone in this opinion. The long-term sub and aide both began to get after the kids
about using the correct colors.
And when several of the kids began asking what color “peach” was, both
the aide and sub would answer, “You know, skin color.” I won’t even get started right now on
that comment.
I’m torn in these areas. I understand wanting kids to grasp a concept, to follow
instructions, blah, blah, blah.
I’m just not sure how insisting that each kid color Santa the exact same
way (and inside the lines, mind you) is serving a benefit. To watch these kids color the way they
want to when given the freedom is a gift itself. So much of their young personalities spill out onto the page
when given free rein. They are all
so particular in their coloring technique, their style, their strategy. Shouldn’t this tell us something?
What are we doing to these young imaginations by insisting
they all color the exact same way?
Who wants to hang the exact same 30+ Santas on the wall outside the
classroom? Isn’t it much more interesting
to have them all start from the same point and see where they end up? Don’t you think they have much more
pride and a feeling of ownership when they can quickly point out and identify,
“Hey, that’s my Santa!”
It seems like a small point to fixate on, but I came home
that day so discouraged. We are so
groomed to fit in, to conform, to do the “right” thing for most of our lives,
and it starts young. But let’s not
take away the joy of coloring freely on a page from these abundantly creative
minds. We should all want to see
what they come up with. It’s
stunning.
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P.S. I wanted
to write a holiday-themed post, and this wasn’t my initial intention, but since
this experience stuck with me (and at least had a Santa angle), I decided to
share it.
That being said, I wanted to wish you all a warm Christmas
with family and friends. When the
little ones you cross paths with break into those fresh boxes of crayons (as
Eli and Sophie have already done) give them encouragement to express themselves
however they see fit. Don’t worry
about the lines, the right colors.
I can guarantee they will show you a new way of seeing things. One of the many gifts kids give us each
and every day, if we’re paying attention.