Reflection - 500 - 700 words

My expectations of this unit were that it would be nice to be taught something instead of it being self-directed art. I didn’t pick this option to begin with so I was in the dark with what the unit entailed as I didn’t really look into it. It did sound interesting when I was in the talk about all the unit x options but I did just think that it was just creating workshops and delivering them to a verity of age groups.

I now know that it was to educate me in to the current educational system and to make me think of my opinions and maybe change them. Many individuals think that the education system is ‘out dated’ and is in need of change for example (This TED TALK

https://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare ) and many others have acted on the needed change and have created their own schools and adapted the curriculum to better suit what the children need, for example (This Kinder Garden 

https://www.ted.com/talks/takaharu_tezuka_the_best_kindergarten_you_ve_ever_seen ). There is also the film screening of ‘ Who’s Most Likely to Succeed’ that spoke about the disconnect between children and the learning but given a more creative subject they flourish. The time I spent in the primary school in particular 2 events was very rewarding,

                The first being I call it flower power. I was asked by a Year 5 boy how to make tissue paper flowers and I showed him how to do so, maybe 10 minutes after I caught the young boy teaching the rest of his table how to create the flowers. It just melted my heart the fact I had shown him how to make something and he was them showing others, it was just amazing to see. It showed that he had learnt a new skill and was willing to teach others.

                The second just made my day. At the start of the workshop the teacher asks one of the boys if he wants to join in and if he will behave, what looked like a quiet boy muttered yes. Teacher says your attitude is showing me otherwise you can go in the halls and do such and such with miss if you aren’t going to join in, the boys replies I want to join in. So what was made out to be a troublesome young boy joined in. This made me happy that he joined in but I wasn’t so keen on the tutors actions as I could see louder maybe more troublesome children. By the end of the 1 hour session this boy had created not only a brilliant 3D caterpillar but had created a 3D butterfly too, with little help from the group, just some encouragement. He was so pleased with what he made, he asked if he could take it home, then told me he wanted me to have it. To see someone who’s seen to be on the naughty side to the teacher, to then have got stuck in and create two 3D creatures was just so inspiring and it put the ‘Who’s most likely to succeed’ film into context.

These 2 events made me realise how important the change is needed to the curriculum. It proves that we don’t all learn in the same way.

There have been many things that I have learnt through this journey.  There has been how much I have grown within myself as an educator through the group work in the class and outside, I know what role I play within a group which is to given ideas but then take in everyone else’s. I understanding that every idea has its place within the development of a workshop or lesson and that barriers are only made by me and they stop the creativity of an idea before it has even blossomed. Any idea can be added to or tweaked by the group but they cannot do so if the idea isn’t given, in group work any idea is better than not giving one at all. I’ve learnt that I can create workshops for children that parents think are great and I can be a part of a team to create an event.

I am so pleased that i had to change options last minute because this has shown me so much more than what i would have imagined. It has given me more incentive to carry on with education and moving forward I know i definitely want to make a difference where I could, whether that is helping change a schools approach, going into a college and changing how students preserve things or going into a school that has an already modified curriculum.