Friday, April 1, 2016

Avoiding the Art


Special ed geometry. It was a good sized group, and they had an assignment that I thought was pretty cool.

They had been learning shapes--the specific shapes that one learns in geometry. Not just your garden variety square and rectangle, but the parallelogram, the rhombus, the kite, and the trapezoid.

The assignment had them using at least one of each in a design that they were to come up with. They got to draw it, color it in, and make it as creative as possible. The idea was to make it like a tile.

I passed out the assignment. And every single one of them turned it over to the back, where there was a word search.

I explained the assignment. It was fun! They got to draw. They just had to use the correct shapes. (I'm not much of an artist, but I would have loved an assignment like this.)

Them? They kept working on the word search.

So, I explained that the word search wasn't their assignment. Nope. It was worth nothing. The art project, however, was what they needed to do.

Reluctantly, they turned over the papers. Grumbled. Sketched out something. Complained that they'd rather do the word search.

via GIPHY

Some days, I wonder about them.

Have you ever thought something was so cool, but when you shared it with someone else, they looked at you like you were crazy?

Today's A to Z Challenge post brought to you by the letter...

Knitted A, monogram A, gift card holder

44 comments:

  1. What was wrong with those kids? I would've done both, but drawing is fun.

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  2. Sometimes being creative is hard, and maybe the word search seemed more concrete and easier to understand. I always had problems doing art like that.

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  3. I feel your pain! Sounded like a fun assignment to me - definitely better than a word search!

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  4. Now that is funny! I like word searches, but I would have enjoyed the creativity of the actual assignment :)

    Yes to answer your question; I love blogging, my husband's eyes kind of glaze over when I talk too much about it :)

    betty

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    1. Ah yes, the enthusiasm of the initiated versus those who don't blog.

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  5. I taught high school English. Everything I shared with the students I thought was cool, and they never did. At least not at first...

    Sounds like a fun assignment, though.

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  6. This sounds like a fun assignment, I'm quite surprised no one wanted to do it. Next time, tell them to do the word search, they'll all want to draw on the other side of the paper :)
    Debbie

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    1. I know, I thought they'd love this assignment. I was wrong. Again.

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  7. I have almost no creativeness so I would have wanted to do the word search too!! Good start

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    1. I'm not an artist, but I would have found this fun. It was just making shapes.

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  8. Sometimes open-ended assignments like that can be intimidating...creativity isn't everyone's strong suit, especially not in a special ed class. The word search probably just felt safer.

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    1. That's what I figured, once I saw them all tearing into the word search.

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  9. Now I want to do a shape project (despite enjoying a good word search)...lol! Happy a-z!

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  10. yes, sometimes I have crazy translation ideas for certain words which my editor doesn't necessarily always find fantastic :)

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  11. Perhaps an example would have gotten some of them going.

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  12. I'm more of a word person than an artist, too. Maybe the word search felt more concrete?

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    1. Probably. I can see why they'd prefer it (now).

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  13. Ha! At least a weekly occurance with me. Especially with all the fads the kids go through so quickly.

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  14. I would've loved that kind of assignment in a math class.

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  15. Are you kidding?! All the time I get that reaction, especially from those in my own home. LOL
    Revisit the Tender Years with me during the #AtoZChallenge at Life & Faith in Caneyhead!

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  16. I don't find this so odd. Frustrating as a teacher, yes, but not odd. How many times have you given a gift to a child or pet and they enjoy the box it came in more than the gift itself?

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    1. Yup. I really should have remembered who I was dealing with.

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  17. I would have loved this assignment. As for being excited by something only to hear crickets...yup that happens often.

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    1. It happens often enough with me that you'd think I'd be used to it by now.

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  18. 30 years of teaching I can say that I buggered things up many times. But I got it right too. It's all a bit of a crap shoot.

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  19. Ahhh I would have liked that assignment too. But yeah been there done that with other stuff. I'm like COME ON! This is so cool! lol

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  20. Kids love word searches. I don't know why but they do. Unfortunately it doesn't really teach them anything according to literacy experts.

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    1. It's pretty mindless, really. I don't mind them as filler, but as the assignment?

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  21. I would much rather have done the art project, but that's me. And now that I see your theme...do I sense something like last year with those gift card holders?

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    1. Same gift card holders as last year. I'm just recycling the pictures. I could do another giveaway, but I wasn't planning on it. We'll see.

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  22. You know if you'd handed out the wordsearch and told them that was the assignment, they'd all have been doing the tile thing instead.

    Perhaps you should've tried some reverse psychology. 'Oh no, sorry, my mistake. Don't do the tile, you have to do the wordsearch!' ;-)

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    1. That's a thought. I was a bit frazzled by all that was going on that day, so my head wasn't in the best place for that sort of thing.

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  23. You must have some strange students. I loved art class in school. That's the only reason I kept going to high school. I didn't care much for the other stuff, although I did do the assignments.

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    1. Special ed. They can be contrary just to be contrary.

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  24. lol. That's funny. I probably would have wanted to do the wordsearch too. Next time don't tempt them with an "easy" assignment on the back of a drawing assignment. Who wants to draw and think of something original? That's hard. ;)

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    1. Not my fault. The teacher left the worksheets. So, we can blame him.

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  25. Getting excited about things that people think are weird?
    ALL THE TIME!!! Latest obsession? The backs of semi trucks!

    I love the premise of your A-Z. Thanks for stopping by mine and leaving a comment.
    Anne M Bray, Tartans A-Z from
    Pattern Recognition

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    1. The backs of semi trucks? Okay, you're going to have to explain that one.

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