Good teachers don't have to raise their voices...

I shouldn't generalize, but in my experience, a teacher straining her voice to be heard and bellowing orders is usually petrified and is spiraling out of control.

Mini-pear took an art class at our local rec center.  Rec center classes can be a bit dodgy, I know, but we've actually had great luck at this particular one (well, until now).  The acting instructor is a gentle, quiet woman who clearly enjoys working with children and Mini-pear so enjoyed her science class with Dr. Kaboom that she's signed up for another session starting next week.

Perhaps our hopes for a Winter Camp entitled The Artistic Child, were a little high.  The teacher sort of rubbed me the wrong way as soon as I met her.  The loud voice scolding a little boy during the first minute of class for "being too excited" was a clue, as was her outfit, a matchy-matchy velour tracksuit that I doubt she intended to get paint on. 

When I picked Mini- up that first afternoon, she showed me the fruits of her labor, a snowman drawn in magic marker (identical to everyone else's snowman) and some photocopied pages from a coloring book.  We have markers and coloring books (usually ignored in favor of more creative pursuits) at our house.  For heaven's sake, the doctor's office waiting room has markers and coloring books!  I asked the teacher how everything went the first afternoon.  I think I phrased it  "Did everyone enjoy themselves?"  To which she replied, "Oh, yeah, everyone was good."  Which was not my question.

Out in the car I casually interrogated Mini-pear:

"Didn't you paint or anything?"
"Oh, yeah, we painted ceramics, but they won't be ready until next week."

I guess.

So yesterday, she came home with a Christmas tree ball (no doubt acquired at some post-Christmas sale at the craft store) she'd glued some glitter to, more sheets of this-is-how-we-all-draw-a-whale drawings and the aforementioned ceramic piece, a rotund little Walrus painted and then sprayed into a sticky mess with what reeked like Spray Fix. 

"Uh, did you spray the Walrus or did your teacher?"
"The teacher."
"Inside?"
"No, she took them out on the patio."

I suppose I should be glad she was bright enough not to kill a couple of hundred of Mini-pear's brain cells with that stuff.

Anyway, I'm just disappointed in the class and in the classroom management of the teacher.  I think they should just list this in the catalog as craft time or, more accurately, childcare.  An art class it was not.  I know I'm biased, having taught art classes to kids myself, but really kids and good art supplies?  As my seventh grade math teacher would say, "It's so easy a monkey could do it".

This afternoon, we didn't get away from class until 15 minutes after it ended.  The teacher kept berating the kids for coming over to a table where she was stuffing some little satin Christmas stockings with a surprise.  So we're waiting and waiting, and I have an errand to run, and the kids are antsy and I start trying to pack up Mini-pear's things, and the teacher keeps telling us we need to give her a minute.  Just a minute!  In her most exasperated voice!  Finally, the stockings are ready, but we need to wait while she figures out what projects are going home with who and finally I just ask Mini-pear what she did that day and where is it, and we find the unfired ceramic tile and the under-the-sea drawing (ooh!  Mixing it up with a number two pencil this afternoon!  Fancy!) and then get the stocking which has a fucking Ring Pop in it.  Yeah, one Ring Pop.  Is it just me, or is a Ring Pop the kind of nasty candy that you check in with mama first about?  I guess there were no candy canes left over for the after Christmas sale.

Okay, no need to get catty.

But there was no survey or anything.  So you get to hear my wrath.  Do I write a note to the rec center expressing our disappointment or am I just expecting too much from an art class at a rec center?

Comments

[Kate]

catty, catty aren't we?
no, seriously that is not acceptable for an art class.
even if its at a rec center.
you should write a note. they'd probably want to know.

[april]

Do you think the other class participants were satisfied? I'd say it's important to send some feedback to the parks and rec department because if you don't tell them, how will they know to improve? Maybe they won't do anything with the knowledge, but maybe they'll find a more suitable class for the velour track suit lady and reconfigure their art classes. Or maybe they won't but at least you'll have told them!

[Rebecca H.]

I'd agree that this was a crafts class and not an art class, but it could be that the rec center or whoever was behind the idea of this class doesn't see a difference. I'm sorry that it was a poor experience for you and mini.