I have been told that the word education comes from the Latin word, educare, which means; “to draw out from within”. This past week I decided to take this meaning literally and have the students in my lunch groups draw a two-minute drawing about how they feel about being back at school.
I chose this activity because I have learned that it is easier to inspire children to express their feelings indirectly, by describing something they have made, or remembering recent experiences, than it is to say, “Tell me how you feel”.
Each student was excited about the chance to draw and each came up with a unique picture to share. Some of the pictures were very straight forward. One student drew a sad face with the words, “sad, sad, sad” written next to it. Another student drew a smiling face with hearts and the word “happy” written all around it.
There were other drawings that were not quite as straight forward. One of my more rambunctious students drew a boy standing with one of his hands pointed toward his head, finger twirling next to his ear.
When I asked him what it meant, he told the group that school was his time to act crazy and that he felt crazy about being back at school.
Another member of the group was being more disruptive than I had experienced him being last year. His drawing appeared to be a group of rectangles. He explained that his picture was an overhead view of his class. I asked him how this described his feelings about being back at school.
He replied, “Well, my teacher is very sensitive”. When I asked him to clarify what he meant by sensitive, he let me know that his teacher does not tolerate any talking, including whispering after he finishes all his work. It started to make sense to me why he had been so talkative throughout our lunch group session.
The group is an opportunity for him to let out all of that talking that he had been holding back in his new classroom. Insights, such as this, create a more complete picture of what my students are experiencing in their inner world, which can lead to greater understanding about the way they are acting in their outer world.
I participated by drawing my own picture showing how I have been feeling about coming back to school. In one group I drew my face with a question mark and an exclamation point above my head. I shared that I have been feeling a combination of excitement and wonder, with a little bit of uncertainty about what this year will bring.
The students could relate and gave knowing nods when I shared. Another bridge was built between our worlds.
By drawing simple pictures and then sharing the pictures with the group, we were able to describe our feelings, while not feeling pressure to make sense of them.
Some of the pictures generated great discussions about feelings that were shared within the group, bringing a communal connection to the experience of coming back to school.
Other pictures gave the group an opportunity to simply listen and understand what another person is going through. In both cases I felt a sense of oneness and vulnerability. It is in these spaces that I tap into genius, that feeling of something greater, and walk away feeling better than when I arrived.
Edward Biagiotti is the Inclusion Specialist for Culver City Unified School District. He is also co-host of the popular radio show, Funniest Thing! with Darrell and Ed, live each week at 3 pm on www.UnityOnlineRadio. org. Visit www.TappingInto- Genius.com for more articles and a free, inspirational parenting download.
