As a teacher you are often presented with the predicament of to encourage while not installing misleading self-confidence where it isn’t merited. I remember years and years ago in high-school i did what at the time i thought was a pretty fantastic drawing of a face, in blue ball point pen. It was shaded with many levels of tonality (in my mind thats how i remember it). The next day after finishing it i had it in school and showed on of my art teachers. He responded to it in part by saying Ball point pen was a tough medium to work in as the pens themselves can be unreliable and leave globs of ink on the paper which can smudge etc etc.
For some reason this morning sitting on the train, drawing i was reminded of this incident. I had actually planned on using a ball point pen and method drawing i learned from an old camp counselor as a kid. I thin k i was reminded of the incident by the fact that i had failed to bring a Bic with me on the train and i had sat in a bad drawing seat, so frustration forced contemplation and reevaluation.
So was I being told hey this is great drawing using a tough medium or was i told, hey pen is hard to draw in. The distinction is subtle but huge. What i heard was in part what i wanted to hear, by way of interpreting a slightly open ended statement. Crafting its meaning to fit my need for praise; but i took that with me for life, and i cant think of ball point pen drawing with out thinking of that interaction with my art teacher. And because im a self loathing neurotic im always slightly suspicious that what was meant was, ‘ I can see you’re excited about this, and as not to crush your spirit lets just discuss the medium not the content’.
As a new parent however it raise serious concerns i will no doubt over think and waste countless sleepless hours analyzing the ways in which i encourage my daughter and how those things can have potential pit falls i will blame myself for later.
How do we encourage while also teaching the over all life lesson, that life isn’t fair, talent is not shared equally and all things are at once equal while at the same time they are irreconcilable to each other. To be born is a win, and yet it is the only win in many lives.In the end i think it takes a certain combination of tact and luck to get these encouraging but not always truthful points across. Life presents countless new experiences one can use to measure the accuracy of the past.
Was it I that didn’t live up to my potential encouragements? Or were did my encouragements put me on a false trajectory, that was unattainable based on my potential skill?
were i destination man id probably be more upset; but as a journey man, the trip is the adventure, and as suck one prolongs any destination arrival as much as possible .
poor light I&iPhone flick
scanned paper reader
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