Until this year, Art Club has always been a fun experience for me. The kids who came were highly engaged in the lessons and performed at good to outstanding levels. This year, however, is different. There is a good 30% of the kids who are more interested in socializing than working. That group is loud and playful. Though they do sit at their tables and work, the work is of low quality.
Since it is an after school activity that they choose to do, I have never laid down the same rules for work time that I do during school. Actually, the club kids have always behaved better than the kids in regular class, and so I never had to police behavior.
As I sit in Art Club wondering why I am hating being there this year my first thought is that I must just be getting crabby. I really think though that I am disappointed. It’s always been so fun in the past observing the kids who are most interested in art getting the opportunity to create together. And most of the kids this year are there for good reasons. It’s just that the other kids are rather loud and care more about playing than the quality of their work.
When I sit back and look at the kids, all of the kids seem to be enjoying the experience. I contemplate whether or not to quell the noisy bunch since no one but me seems to mind. If their work didn’t suffer from their playfulness, I think it would not bother me so much.
I opened the club to more kids this year than I had ever done before. Though I don’t like the idea of cutting the numbers down next year, I am wondering if that’s what I should do. I am also considering the idea of screening kids somehow. I’d rather let everyone in, but so far this method is not very fun for me.
