Do Pay Attention!

The hardest part of The Clay Teacher's job is not teaching, but making sure everyone is listening. When we give instructions they are very strait forward and easy to follow. We were more than surprised today when we learned that some of the teachers were the ones not listening and not following instructions.

We have been offering air dry as a method of finishing. It is more economical and the teacher has control of the timing of the project. We tell the teachers how to finish them and then give them detailed written instructions from when the project is first made and the clay is wet, how to dry it and we provide the plastic. The instructions tell the teachers how to tell when it is dry, what paint to use, how to apply the paint, how to seal the project after it has been painted and we provide the sealant. We thought we had it all covered.......However.....if the teacher will not listen or read the instructions provided what can you do. Today we were back at a school we had worked at a few weeks ago and we met the teacher from that past workshop. She hadn't even uncovered her projects so some were still damp. She didn't know what paint to use and when I told her, there was not enough paint in the art room and didn't know how to apply it if there was. At that point I gave her a set of instructions in the staff room at lunch break before her class was starting , she didn't listen to me when I started telling her how to finish the projects or read the instructions I had just handed her. Later on in the art room, I took the instructions from the finishing kit we provided weeks ago and told her to read them. She wouldn't read them and still didn't listen to my explanations. At that point I suggested that if she didn't have enough paint, she didn't know how to paint them if she did and some were still damp that maybe today was not a good for finishing. She didn't agree, so she any went ahead and painted them anyway. She mixed all the paint in the art room to get a swampy beige brown to paint Christmas wreath picture frames. These kids are giving the frames to their parents for Christmas. They worked hard and deserve the proper paint and procedure to make their work the best it can be. They listened it was the teacher who did not.

Now if the projects are not what the teacher had in mind she will see it as The Clay Teacher did not provide a satisfactory service..........Bummer.....

Until next time.

Cindy