GOOD LORD!!!!!! today (first day of official class for me) went fine UNTIL art class with the 4th graders and the terrorist teacher from hell Natalia. she screamed at them repeatedly. didnt let them talk. didnt let them WHISPER. even if they were asking someone to hand them a colored pencil. they were not allowed to get up and sharpen their pencils. they had to raise their hands and ask for permission first. and if they didnt she would scream at them and force them to go back and sit down and raise their hands and ask for permission. she screamed "SHSHSHSHSHSHHHHHHSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!" at a boy who was trying to scoot his chair closer to his desk. She told them if they didnt have a color they wanted they just werent allowed to use it, they couldnt borrow anyone elses pencils. the only thing they did in class was copy/trace out of a book. Natalia said that the art curriculum is just straight out of the book and its the only thing they do all year, and she and the other 4th grade teacher do the same exact thing. the book was all just copying and tracing and coloring by numbers!!! she just had me sit there for 2 hours basically because it had to be silent and the kids were copying. she turned on a radio to a volume level that i dont even think a bat could hear if it were 1 millimeter away from the speaker, and she said that the kids had to be quiet enough so the music could be heard. after they were done copying the drawing she told them to draw themselves (mind you this was on an 8.5x11 piece of computer paper) one little boy started drawing something else (a creature of some sort) and she screamed at him, snatched it off his table crumpled it up and threw it away and told him to draw himself. thats when i almost CRIED because i watched that little boys soul die in front of my eyes. then when they were done drawing themselves she forced them to read books in english silently, and look things up in a dictionary...she didnt even let them have creative drawing time, or tell the little boy, ok draw your creature later but first draw yourself. she had absolutely NO art background, (shes a fine english/science teacher but) a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE art teacher.
art is not about copying, its about expression and innovation and creativity and interpretation and sharing ideas. not about sitting silently in fear copying things out of a book, it would be much better if these kids just didnt even HAVE an art class. because the "art class" they are getting is going to scar them all for life and i will bet you NONE of those students will go on to do art after this traumatizing and nearly abusive experience. and this is not a matter of different teaching styles from culture to culture. this was HORRIBLE. i'm going to talk to my coordinator (also named Natalia but this ones very angelic) and tell her that i'm wasting my time just sitting in this class, and something needs to be done.
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