Results are still coming in for the Urban Planner project. So until then, a placeholder:
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by J, 10th grade
- "Draw a comic strip aobut how you spent your [Thanksgiving] holiday"
First frame: A happy woman holding a baby.
Second frame: 3 weeping figures around a coffin, with text that reads "R.I.P. Baby Matthew".
Third frame: The same woman from the first frame, now weeping, in front of a table full of food.
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2 comments:
I'm curious about how you reacted to that (i.e., your personal, perhaps unexpressed, emotion) and then how you chose to respond to the student. Was there anything in J's behavior that led you to anticipate him using assignments this way or did it come as a punch to the jaw?
I was completely, totally gobsmacked. "Punch to the jaw" is a pretty good description. J was one of my quietest students - he was friendly but only spoke in response to queries, and usually with subtle nods or single words. I was completely defenseless against this unexpected honesty.
That's my personal reaction. My professional reaction, for better or worse, was silence. If I did address it, it was probably with an impersonal (an inept) "Powerful sketches!" comment on the sketchbook review cover sheet. This sketch was more than a month old when he turned it in, so it was drawn in private for a moment that had passed. I didn't want to needle healing wounds by discussing it - the sketch says it all, really - but I know that is simply a justification for my total inability to be of use.
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