I never want to know ahead of time which kids are “those” kids. When I walk into a classroom, ready to teach a unit on art, I don’t want to know which kid is the one who falls off his chair to entertain his neighbors, which kid is a super-talented artist, or which kid is the mouse. It’s not that I want to walk blindly into a classroom, or that I have some airy-headed view that all kids are artists, and have equal “gifts.” I just know that it doesn’t matter how “talented” they are, it’s what is in their head and hands when they make art that is important. After teaching art as an itinerant “Artist in Residence” (which makes it sound like I lived at the school, but in fact simply means I am a working artist and am not required by the State to have teaching credentials) in a K-5 public school for several years, I noticed something interesting. I would walk into a classroom of 30 kids, not knowing them AT ALL . In the process of teaching a project I would see a student focus really hard, and come up with amazing and brilliant ideas, or use color in a way I would never have thought about. Later, the classroom teacher would come to me and say “You know, I really didn’t expect that kind of thing from that child.” And I would think, “I am so glad I didn’t know that before.” Oh don’t get me wrong, sometimes I walk into a classroom and instantly know which kid just cannot sit in their chair for more than three seconds, or which one is the super-motivated, future class president. And often that bright, motivated kid is very, very successful at working with the medium I am teaching. And sometimes the kid who is falling off the chair every time I look at them is a huge challenge to teach. But I seriously don’t want to hear from the teacher ahead of time which kids are “those” kids. Even if they normally display a prodigious talent for drawing horses or kittens or trains. Especially that. I could do a whole blog on the kids who have been told their whole life that they are terribly gifted at drawing, and how, by about third grade, they are so clenched about how they draw that they HAVE to draw the same thing over and over again, EXACTLY the same way. Not that I’m dissing natural talent, or a child who loves to draw. It’s just that every kid has a challenge of some kind. For some, it’s holding scissors correctly. For some, it’s learning that there is MUCH more to the world of art than drawing dogs realistically. So to the kid who says “I can’t draw” I say “Hallelujah! Neither can I. So let me show you how do do art.” Which brings me to my fifth grade tile project. Personally, I love my rock-star status as Art Teacher. I would not be a classroom teacher for all the money you could throw at me. The kids who come to me to work with clay do not have to be motivated. They come fully loaded and ready to go. We start by talking about the project. We go over what they need to know about the theme of the tiles, how to design in a four-inch square, and the basics of the clay process. I ask for a show of hands—who has worked with ceramic clay? A hand or two goes up. They’ve painted bisqueware at a local business. Not the same thing. How many love to get their hands into mud puddles? They look at me as if I’m daft. These are mostly farm kids. They know mud puddles. They don’t put their hands in them. “Imagine if you were drawing your design in the mud with a stick,” I tell them. Hmmm…well that sounds a little crazy, but they can kind of go there. I keep forgetting that these kids, even though they are almost all 12, have never made a pinch pot, or done a coil pot, or built a slab tray or even used air-dry clay. Most of them have never, ever been taught in the course of a regular school year to get their hands into real clay. In about a week, after they’ve worked on researching their individual subject, I “approve” their design. This year our theme is State Symbols, so they find birds, flowers, trees, bugs, and even firearms. That last one was quite the coup, since students are technically not allowed to draw weapons, but he found a way. Resourceful young man. It was also quite a challenge, being a muzzle-loader long gun, which does not fit well into a four-inch square. He got a wonderful dose of problem solving, thinking on his feet, working and adapting to the circumstances, patience and focus. Actually, ALL of the students got some mega-doses of all those skills and more. The student who wanted to do the Texas Bluebonnet drew a lovely pencil rendition of that complex flower. She got her wet square of clay to work on, and a slab of clay to cut out and build the relief of her design. When she cut the design out of the paper, it looked mostly like a lumpy bunch of…well, lumps. Problem solving, thinking on her feet, adapting to circumstances. I asked her, “How are you going to solve this?” She looked back at me. I said, “Pick up the clay, play with it. See what it will do.” She did, I turned my back to talk to another student, and next thing I know, she had an amazing relief of a Texas Bluebonnet she accomplished by cutting individual pieces out of her little flat patty of clay, and sticking them onto her wet tile. Her neighbor says, “Wow! That is so cool! How did you do that?” And we’re off.
Homeschooling
Gifted Soup Ingredients: Dawbroski’s Excitabilities in Creative Writing
Does your gifted child or a classroom child react negatively to sensory stimulus? Instead of seeing the sensory quirks as a negative aspect of life, there are many ways to change the focus to finding a creative spark. Kazimierz Dabrowski recognized gifted kids often have overly sensitive responses to their environment. Within his studies, he looked at many aspects of how these often-perceived flaws or disruptions in kids are perhaps simply a function of their brains working overtime to process information at a higher speed or level. There is a long list of Dabrowski’s Excitabilities. Dabrowski broke down the “sensual” excitabilities into heightened reactions to the five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing. These positive or negative reactions could involve sensitivity to smells, tastes, textures, a strong appreciation of beauty, a scavenger-level love of objects, an increased need for comfort or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, being bothered by tactile intrusions like a shirt tag. Instead of viewing the behaviors as negative, I agree with Dabrowski that the excitabilities can become a positive aspect if approached as an equal gift, instead of as a detriment or distraction. For this blog entry, I am going to explore using Dabrowski’s “sensual” excitability of touch to find a creative spark by taking a look at how a heightened tactile sense can be used to encourage creative writing. In creative writing and artistic pursuits especially, the excitability behavior can be viewed as that moment of inspiration when the increased sensitivity to a sensual experience is that eureka moment when great creativity strikes. When Cohen composed the song “Hallelujah,” it is reported he was found exhausted in a hotel room from the creative process of writing the song. Finding that eureka moment of creativity may be as simple as harnessing these sensory excitabilities. To begin, think of the question: How does a gifted child experience the world through the perception of Dabrowski? The simplest way to get that answer is to just ask the child, especially at that moment when the excitability is at its heightened state. When socks or a shirt are irritating them, ask what about the sensation bothers them. The answer might be as simple as the sensation is itchy, or the child might respond by saying that it feels as if a snake is crawling up their back. After exploring the child’s perception of the heightened sensory experience, the next step can be to find ways to encourage creative writing enhanced by that very sensitivity to tactile influences. Many of the exercises below can also be adapted for the other senses. I will continue the exploration of the excitabilities in upcoming columns with additional techniques to make often-difficult responses into positive creative outlets. Exploring the tips below can be a great way to explore creativity. 1-Interactive journalling can be used to integrate actual tactile materials into a writing journal. In a similar fashion that a scrapbook might be used, interactive journalling with tactile objects can introduce the feel of a memory by having the texture or feel of that object next to the words it describes. While pressing leaves and dried flowers might be the first idea, including tactile journal reminders can extend beyond nature objects to money, fabric, images, tickets—anything that physically reminds the child by heightening the sense that made the object’s feel important to them at the outset. To change the interactive journal to fit with the other senses, a journal of photographs can be made, or the tactile objects can be used in a sight-based format instead. 2-Creating a “feeling collage.” Buy a simple canvas and have the child collect tactile objects on a nature walk or just through the house. Glue the objects to the canvas. Have the child feel the objects with their eyes open, and then again with their eyes closed. Have them write about how things feel differently with and without the sense of sight. To adapt the “feeling collage” for other senses, the child can be introduced to different smells and tastes with and without their other senses present. For example, blindfold while tasting or smelling and see if the objects invoke a different response. Write notes about how an apple smells and tastes when the child can’t see it. 3-Explore emotions. The next time the child has an emotional reaction to a tactile object or feeling, have them write down where their emotions go when they physically and emotionally feel something. Is there a tearful response when they touch their teddy bear because it was a special gift? Does the feel of the ocean breeze make them afraid they will drown? 4-Writing prompts with eyes closed and only a tactile feel of the area. This exercise may require a little parent or teacher help. Have the child focus on the surroundings and materials involved in writing: the feel of the paper, the desk, the pencil, the computer keys, the floor under their feet, eraser bits, pencil shavings. Make the tactile feeling of writing a focus in the process. Other senses can be explored by having the child describe everything they see with each of the other individual senses. By honing in on one specific sense at a time, it can help the child focus their thoughts. 5-Writing prompts with objects as inspiration. Narrow the tactile influence by starting with a prompt that focuses on touch. Some examples: “She felt like . . .” “He touched the . . .” “The breeze blew across the . . .” “The dog’s fur felt like . . .” “My tears feel like . . .” To focus on a different sensory reaction, substitute “She saw . . .”. 6-Take notes all day on the tactile feelings of their surroundings. At the end of the day, take an inventory of the experience, and use it to set up character settings based on the descriptions of how their actual environment felt all day. This could be as simple as what the car leather
The Making of an Author: Evelyn Chen
Most of the writers we publish in Stone Soup are published only once. This is not a bad thing. Even some very famous authors, like Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind) and Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird), are known for the one great book they wrote. But over the years the pages of Stone Soup have also featured the work of young writers who sent us one great story after another. Some were published twice, some three times, some even more. The current record [in 2016] – seven times – is held by William Gwaltney, whose stories appeared in Stone Soup between 2006 and 2009. The Girl Next Door is the featured story from our March/April 2016 issue. It is the fourth story by Evelyn Chen to appear in Stone Soup. We can’t help but wonder if frequent contributors like Evelyn, who is clearly passionate about writing and very good at it, will go on to write professionally when she grows up. We love every one of Evelyn’s stories and hope our readers do too. If you look closely, you will start to recognize her literary voice. “Julius’s Gift” [January/February 2014], “No Regrets” [March/April 2015], The Voice of the Seal [May/June 2015], and The Girl Next Door [March/April 2016] are all well-written, entertaining stories, with complex, relateable characters. In addition, each story has a powerful message to convey. Clearly, Evelyn has strong feelings about injustices in the world. She realizes her stories can address those injustices and maybe even change some minds. The narrator of The Girl Next Door is a girl named Hazel. When Hazel’s mom arranges for her to teach piano to the girl next door, who happens to be blind, Hazel’s prejudices come out. Via is a sweet girl who learns quickly. She likes Hazel and would like to be her friend, but Hazel doesn’t give her a chance. She is certain that Via is “different.” The implication is that she thinks Via is inferior. In subtle ways, Evelyn shows the reader that Hazel is wrong. Via is polite and friendly. Hazel, on the other hand, comes off as immature, pouting when she finds out she has to teach a blind girl, plopping down on the couch and glaring at the ceiling. She makes sarcastic comments like “Whatever” when her mom tries to reason with her and “Oh great” when her mom reminds her it’s time to go next door. The reader sympathizes with Via and realizes early on that blind people are no different from sighted people. As we read along, we want Hazel to recognize this fact too. Finally, after a confrontation during which Via tells Hazel how she feels, Hazel wakes up and begins to change. An injustice has been righted. Two of Evelyn’s three other published stories also tackle injustices, from sexism in Ancient Rome (“Julius’s Gift”), when boys learn to read but not girls, to the environmental problem of seals getting trapped in fishermen’s nets in The Voice of the Seal. “No Regrets” has a message of a different kind. Rhonda is fiercely competitive, and she’s rude to the other girls on the track team. Bailey dislikes her, even though Bailey’s mom tries to help her understand that Rhonda’s behavior has a lot to do with her family’s problems. Rhonda’s brother is gravely ill and needs an operation her family can’t afford. Rhonda doesn’t just want to win the Oregon State Championship Race, along with the prize money. She needs to win. In the surprise ending, Bailey learns two big lessons: 1) there are more important things in life than winning, and 2) sometimes when people aren’t nice it’s because they are struggling and need our compassion. Evelyn Chen will turn 14 in a couple of months, so, sadly, we may not see more of her stories in Stone Soup. But we hope she keeps writing. Maybe one day we’ll be picking up a copy of her new novel at our local bookstore. Is there something you feel passionate about? Maybe you’ve been the victim of bullying, or you’ve watched someone else get bullied, and you wish you could stop it. Maybe you’re caught up in the presidential campaign, and you agree or disagree with some of the candidates’ positions. Perhaps you’re an animal lover who feels strongly about how animals are treated when they are kept in zoos or raised for their meat. Wouldn’t it be great if you could persuade others to see the world the way you do? Like Evelyn, you could make a difference in your readers’ hearts and minds with a well-written story. Think of a group of characters. Give them personality traits that make them believable, but show us their weaknesses too. Some of their thinking is off. What will it take for them to change? This could be the beginning of your next great story.
