She says:
"I don't want to 'be' an artist. It's Middlests' thing."
It is her sisters thing. But I tell her, "Sometimes it's not a question of trying or becoming or even loving it more than anything else." Sometimes it's a case of :
 |
| You ARE |
 |
You can have fun with it if you want to. |
 |
| You can even combine it with what you really love.
It doesn't have to be your life's work...BUT
|
"The simple fact is, You ARE Failing Art!"
How, you may ask, do you Fail Art?!
It goes something like this:
"I can't just do something every day because I'm supposed to. I don't know how the 'elements and principles played a part in the creation of my piece'. I can't analyze the deep meaning of my work. It's a picture. I did it. That's all."
I tell her: "Everything doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Just make an effort and write what you think they want to hear about it. It doesn't have to be perfect."
"Yes it does."
MmmHmmm......
My normal response to Very Bad grades is:
Then you ARE Grounded.
What do you think, Moms and former High School students?
Should you ground or punish for failed electives? It may not be related to their goals in life but it all goes into the GPA.
If it doesn't change by report card time is she grounded?
© 2012 MOTPG All Rights Reserved
Like most girls, I hated math. In college, I loved algebra, trig, calculus. Why? The numbers were "absolutes". Art is so subjective. Like getting an "A" or a "B" or a "C" on a paper that contains no factual errors or misspelled words. Who decides? What is their criteria. Give me an absolute I can be graded on. The pictures are awesome and show real talent I think.
ReplyDeleteOOOh yes, I don't want to be mean but grounding is a good idea if its what it takes, she doesn't want a bad grade dragging down the rest of her work!
ReplyDeleteThose pictures are really good by the way, did she do those? xx
Linda: I think you are right about it being subjective. They balk at the part where they are expected to conform to the syllabus.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte: Exactly! I wish I could make any of my kids get that. They are bullheaded.
And yes she did them : )I've shown off Mids work before so I thought Littlest deserved a showing before I fussed! xo
Direct from my mom. "You don't have to be an artist, but you will not be a quitter. Paint."
ReplyDeleteUh, actually it was ballet and I stunk, but I didn't get to quit until I'd given it my all.
School was my kids "job" when they were growing up. If you fail at your job when you are and adult, you get fired. In their case, they got grounded.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought it was fair that those kinds of electives factored in. You're either born with the talent or you're not, and it's not your fault if you don't have skills. I think those courses should be pass/fail. But we can't change the system, so there should be repercussions for bad grades. I'm just not sure what they ought to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms. A....that's y philosophy with my kids too. I don't expect straight A's but they should certainly be able to achieve a B.
ReplyDeleteHer art work is beautiful. I wish the Art classes offered in public schools allowed a bit more freedom. My son thinks he is terrible at art and hates it. The reality is that he really enjoys it and is good at it if he is allowed to do his own thing. I think artists especially have a hard time "coloring within the lines" and following a protocol within the class when they are yearning to express themselves in another way. But...that's the way it is, kiddos. This is life.You don't have to love the class, but you do have to make an effort and at least pass it.
GPD: * Hee Hee* Tell your Mom thanks, I'll pass it on ; ) That's our usual rule too!
ReplyDeleteMs. A: You are Correct!!
Liz: I know. If she was being graded on the creativity there would be no problem. It's the part where they want her to learn something that we can't seem to focus on!
Lisa: Like Ms. A you are 100% correct! I also think that they all should have a chance to create art regardless of skill or natural ability. I'll pass on the compliment too : )
oh i have NO basis to answer here. i never had overall grades below Bs in anything as a kid and i was never grounded. my parents didn't use that method... sort of. i mean, i might lose a specific privilege, say talking on the phone or no friend's houses, for a certain offense. but i have no experience with "grounded" other than my friends were always "grounded" but then got out of it :-)
ReplyDeletethat said, she is clearly talented and is a smart girl. my experience with my own teachers and my family and friends who are now teachers is that they would NEVER fail a student who shows up to class and completes all their assignments with a reasonable amount of effort. sounds like ms. lit may feel that art is mid's thing, but she is okay sharing her stubborn non conformity! :-) to which i say... yay.. good for you... except here. because this is your future and it pays in the end to play the game from time to time. beautiful talent, littlest. give your teacher what he/she wants, so you WON'T GET GROUNDED!!!! :-)
Grounding never worked for Hailey, yes threaten her with a good time, she would just sit in her room and read. Why is it they fail the electives that are based on things they are good at? Hailey failed photography, one of her favorite things, and she's good, go figure.
ReplyDeleteWe're pretty tough in this house.
ReplyDeleteStill I remember being grounded and it didn't change my behavior.
Losing a privilege did, though.
Like no phone for awhile, or no money, or not being able to drive for awhile..
Like that.
Is this her work? Since it is apart of her gpa she should be held accountable. Tell all she has to.do os pass. My daughter messed up one quarter of her second year and we threatened to not let her play ball. She was distraught. She picked them back up and we haven't had a problem since. I hope she gets through it.
ReplyDeleteElissa: That's all she has to do is show up and turn in! She makes it so frustrating
ReplyDeleteCarol: Hailey reminds me of Mid. Sometimes I think it's because they know they are good.
Alexandra: I agree. I was thinking of not letting her go to a seminar that featured a Gracie but she paid $100.00 for it herself and I'm not sure if that is fair.
Nicole: I hope so too. Jiu Jitsu is the only thing we can take from her that matters to her and threats of that seem to be working so far.
Seeing as I failed my way through art and still achieved a college credit (ditto for language)grounding is pointless.
ReplyDeleteOf course the teachered loved me so i scraped by.
"teachered" is not a word tho.
ReplyDeleteMaybe not grounding but between now and the next grade I'd make her do a mandatory 30 minutes of "art work". Those electives are important too.
ReplyDeleteMiddlest: Why yes. Yes you did. And she loves Lit too. But Still! And No. It isn't. And neither is Tho ; )Luv Ya!
ReplyDeleteMrs. Tuna: Ha! Good thinking : )
drawings are amazing!
ReplyDeleteExccuse me.
ReplyDeleteI know the elements and principles of art.
It is a matter of the fact that I REFUSE to write some deep and meaningful explanation for every little drawing that I throw into a sketchbook. There's no deep inner meaning to any of it. "I like robots." "I like jiu jitsu"
Not sure how I am supose to go about making that meaningful.
That is all.
BragonDorn: I'm sure Littlest thanks you for the compliment even though she forgot to mention it below.
ReplyDeleteLittlest: Point well taken. The confusion must have come from when you pointed at the sheet and yelled 'I don't know what the elements and principles are.'or was it, 'I don't care'? Either way...you still haven't taken the trash out.