[Woodcarver] unteachable students?

Tue Oct 12 18:02:26 EDT 2004

You teachers have my greatest respect.  I always wanted to be a Special Ed
teacher, but just didn't, don't have what it takes to be a good teacher of
any kind, so my working career was mainly being a secretary for teacher --
trying to ease their load, so they could be better and have more time with
the students.  Now I continue to be a student and am so very grateful to all
you teachers.  Thank you for being you/teachers.
Sylda

On 10/5/04 4:25 AM, "maricha" <maricha at ozemail.com.au> wrote:

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> susan,
> you are a treasure. you have reminded me of many times of the same
> situation, when a brain blocks what the teacher is trying to show you yet
> much much later, it clicks, and you remember as you said what it was all
> about.
> 
> some of my students are from 3 years to 90ish .... my grandchildren are easy
> to teach with soap and paddle sticks or spoons and seem to pick up quickly.
> have had to battle to keep a creative community centre open for people in
> the community who want so desperately, that the centre means a spark of life
> to them. they the politicians wanted to close them down, but when some of my
> students, wrote letters telling us what the centre meant, how could i let
> them down... so all these months i've been trying hard to keep the place
> going, because it is like their blood transfusion... for example of my
> students was in a car accident 2 years ago, unemployed, etc etc. and in one
> month in the woodcarving class, she saw the light of not only feeling
> better, but a means of earning a living.  she was so devastated with the
> prospective closure, that how could i refuse to help, her and so many
> others, some even in more complicated and sad situations. at the moment
> after a lot of meetings and hard yaka (hard work) the council and
> politicians have decided to stay .hooray..
> 
> so your teaching the unteachable is a wonderful tonic,.
> have also decided to experiment what i have just learnt from you all and the
> expressionism workshop... applying it to wood/clay for the wonderful elderly
> people that come and their strength, eyesight etc is not as it was.
> this experiment is perhaps a bit daring but feel very strongly that it could
> work...
> 
> that is,  getting the relief carving, all painted in white for the top
> layers, black for the backgroun and a grey for the different levels.
> working from a photocopy of black and white, putting it up side down, they
> can draw first the white paint, then the next student, paints some more
> white, going clockwise, and the third student, also painting white on her
> next door student.... thus allowing each other to help one another, and take
> away that exclusiveness away or that don't touch my work, yet respecting
> each others work.  the next step getting each one to go back to their own
> work, painting in the black bit of their relief still life.  then carve the
> black painted area out first, all upside down, so that their artistic right
> side of the brain is not fighting with the left side of the brain, by
> putting in names and symbols which only confuses the carver.  once the level
> desired is reached, and the wastage removed, then we go to the shapes, for
> examples, apples, oranges etc.then lastly the grey areas, or the refining
> parts.  hope i am not carrying on here and ranting and losing you all.
> but by doing this black and white exercises, i feel it minimizes
> destructions and the space is created much quickler and efficiently. this is
> the first step of 5 stages in this method of  passing on skills  i know
> there are many pitfalls but hopefully, we will work them together.
> 
> any comments would be much appreciated.
> 
> thanking you muchly.
> maricha
>> 
>> GOOD MORNING MARICHA!
>> 
>> My e-mail box looked awfully bare this morning until a few moments ago
>> when you e-mails popped into the box ... our THANK YOU goes to you!
>> 
>> You wrote:
>> to think all this started because of carving, because of the delicate
>> people
>> I have had to deal with, with trying to motivate and teach almost the
>> unteacheable students, in my inadequateness to find a solution, you are
>> helping tremendously and finging solutions..
>> 
>> Now, this is just my opinion ... But I don't think there are Unteachable
>> Students.  I think, I hope, that it is more the case that as teachers we
>> can't see at that moment what is getting through and what is not.  Each
>> student seems to absorb different information at different rates and at
>> different times.  I know that some times you come in contact with a
>> student that you just can't seem to connect with during the class
>> session.  Try as you might you just don't seem to find the right words
>> or right demonstrations to make your point. It is an extremely
>> frustrating situation for any teacher.
>> 
>> However, many of us 'teachers' have also been the students (and
>> hopefully still are in many ways today.)  As a student I have had
>> teachers that for all of my trying and their trying I just couldn't
>> follow.  But some where down the line, unexpectedly, I remember
>> something they said, something that they showed me that day in class.
>> Perhaps it is the input of that particular time when I remember them
>> that was needed for me to 'connect the dots' with the information that
>> the teacher was sharing.  Example, maybe I am down in the workshop
>> tracing out a pattern when it hits me that I can see the pattern flowing
>> with the unusual grain of the wood ... And suddenly I understand what
>> that teacher meant by using the grain to enhance the look of the depth
>> of the pattern!  See the light bulb go off many weeks or months AFTER
>> the class is over.
>> 
>> When you do encounter that seemingly 'Unteachable student' or come away
>> from a class feeling like an 'Unteachable' I think what becomes most
>> important is the simple fact that you and they tried to find a way to
>> communicate!  Just keep doing what you are doing with the hope that all
>> that stuff is going into their/your brain and someday that little bit of
>> added date will come along that makes sense out of it all.
>> 
>> 
>> Changing subject ... Tiny little rant here!!!! ... And this is just MY
>> OPINION!!!!
>> 
>> If anyone is lurking because they feel that those that post to this list
>> 'know more' than you do ... PLEASE have mercy on us posters!!!!  You
>> don't know exactly what I do know or don't know.  You don't know for
>> sure that I already know everything that you know!  If this is your
>> reason for not posting you are assuming something that is not a fact.
>> There is a lot that I don't know yet which is why I personally follow
>> the list!  So if you are not posting you might be withholding that very
>> little or very big or extremely important bit of information that I need
>> to make the light bulb turn on!  And being a very selfish, very
>> self-centered type of learner here ... I personally want that little bit
>> that you have tucked away from your experiences!!!!
>> 
>> Thank you for listening to my  rant.
>> Susan
>> 
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>> Classic Carving Patterns By L.S.Irish
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>> 
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