Scraping the Surface

Scraping the Surface

I'm sure that many educators have done scratch art with a group of children. Whether you use commercially prepared scratch paper or create your own, it is a fun activity. The procedure usually involves children scratching the black covering off a piece of prepared paper. Hidden underneath the black are different colors that are revealed when the black is removed. I love to use this analogy with teachers about discovering the colors that lie underneath the surface of a child. Sometimes it takes a bit of work and creativity to discover those colors, but it is always worth the effort. As with scratch art paper, underneath the black there is a rainbow of colors. Those colors allow the artist to create an amazing picture as the colors pop out of the darkness. Many children come to our classrooms with a layer of dark. It is up to the educator to do more than just scratch the surface, but find the hidden colors and beauty beneath.

A Paradise

Here we sit in the snow and cold as another winter is upon us. We recently returned for a trip to Hawaii. How glorious it was to experience 'paradise' and get a break from the cold weather (which has been unseasonably cold this year). As the snow was falling today, I found myself wishing I was back sitting on the Waikiki Beach. Then I remembered, as so often before in my life, that paradise is where you are. It is up to us to create our own paradise and be happy with our surroundings. I have always felt sorry for those people who seem to stumble along daily wishing they were at another place in life. One can waste an entire life wishing for different circumstances. As usual, this always brings me back to the classroom where the same thing applies. Are the children sitting there wishing for a different setting, or are they experiencing paradise? It is up to the educator to make sure it is the latter.