Giving Students Alternative Assignments
Something that I’ve quickly learned in my high school placement is that alternative assignments are your best friend. As I’ve taught these students, I noticed how many of them have no interest in the subject matter or medium. Now for some, I am able to tweak something to make it work for them, but there are a few times when that doesn’t work.
In this specific instance, I had a couple of gentlemen who had absolutely no interest in pan pastels. I even offered to let them choose whatever subject matter they wanted and still nothing. It was frustrating. I came back with a plan. Now I understand that this is only worked because of the school and the specific students. However, I proposed to this group to build me a bookshelf for my art show. I gave them the requirements I needed but left the rest up to them. I want to make it clear that I only asked, they had a choice to do it or not. At least two of the students had taken or were in the carpentry class at the school. They immediately agreed to do this instead of the pan pastels. They designed the bookshelf almost immediately.
Then they went to the woodshop and were able to use wood that the carpentry teacher provided. They finished the building part in one class. They then took several class periods to stain and seal the bookshelf. They worked pretty much continuously each class. They took control and pride in their work. One student emerged as the leader and really made it work.
The bookshelf is beautiful and I can’t wait to display it along with the artwork on top of it. The students really grew and pushed themselves. The best part was they didn’t distract the other students working hard on the pan pastels. By giving students an alternative assignment they can feel special and will motivate them to work hard and be passionate. I will definitely remember this for later on in my teaching experiences!
