We have seven days until Christmas Break. I am not going to try and hide the fact that Holiday breaks are a great perk of teaching. I’m also going to say that in the world of teaching they are completely necessary. I don’t know if the breaks throughout the school year are more helpful to the teacher or the student, but regardless… YAY for the Holidays.
My afternoon students are still engrossed in their book cover and poster designs. We had a rough critique (rough critique does not mean that it was hard or awful, it means they created an early draft of what they believe the project will look like and we discuss its direction) and the majority of students were on the right track. With a few suggestions from their peers and myself I feel as if a good number of the projects have a chance for a positive critique.
I need to give an account of the afternoon room atmosphere. As the critique date draws near the student’s heads get closer and closer to the computer screens as they work. I swear a few of them almost had their noses touching the monitors. Sometimes I wonder about their eyes (and mine) being so stuck on the screen for hours on end. But in the long run it is part of the job. I guess only the future will tell what kind of affect it will have on our vision, but I suppose we can all hope for medical advancements to counter the balance for the majority of workers who are glued to a screen for 8 hour plus.
My morning students are currently working on a project dealing with symmetrical and asymmetrical design. They are creating a symmetrical design piece using their principles of design. After they have inked the design, I will make a copy for them and they’ll use an exacto knife to disassemble it and use the pieces to create a new asymmetrical design to be inked. The works will be mounted on a single board to display the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical design using the same forms and linked principles. It is a very tedious assignment, and execution is key in producing “A” work. I am looking forward to seeing the completed work, and even more so for the critique.
So, I am going to go in a different direction for a little bit. This blog so far has been all peaches and roses, but there is always a down side to a job you love and the following is my down side.
It is about this time of year when students begin to decide if this is the class for them. Sadly not every student who initially has a desire to join my class ends up staying past the first year. I can only enhance a student’s natural ability through direction; I am unable to hand out the natural ability needed to do well. I don’t like watching a student struggle through critiques due to the quality of their work especially when I know they truly did try. But I also can not allow a student to be coddled into believing that “it’s good enough” because in this industry, good enough will never get you “the job”. Honesty in the design world can be harsh, but I am never intentionally cruel. I think spending two and half hours a day for three years in a class that is not well suited for a student is much crueler than being honest about ability.
All people have something that they are really good at and can be passionate about, sometimes it’s art and design and sometimes it’s not. Telling a kid that this may not be the field for them is really difficult, but they usually know it before I say anything. It’s just that they love the idea of CPI so much that leaving here doesn’t seem like a viable option. CPI leads to a freedom and personal responsibility that the home schools just can’t offer. Thankfully we have 18 program areas and allow students to check out other career options offered here. I have had students leave my room only to excel in other programs, and I have had students join my program after leaving another only to find that this is the path they were meant to take. CPI is really an amazing institution, and once students have a taste of the atmosphere here; it’s difficult to go back.
All in all even the down side is not all that bad. It’s just about finding the right thing for students. The majority of them are able to find something that’s a great fit for them at CPI.
I am going to stop for now and resume next year. Hmmm… I don’t know why I typed that, I’ve never cared for that joke from teachers when I was in school. Like I said, it’s time for a break.
Have a WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!!!
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