55: mishaps of art

I was checking Skyler's grades online the other day and it showed that he had a F in home economics. I was perplexed and a little angry with him. He told me not to freak out because he hadn't turned in his sewing project yet. I emailed the teacher, out of concern, and she assured me it would go up as soon as he turned in his project. He has been complaining about this sewing project for the past 2 weeks. They couldn't bring it home, it had to be done in class {smart teacher..she probably knew the parents would find a way to do it for them.} He went in during lunch and pride period and finally finished. Honestly, I can't be mad at him for not knowing how to sew! Sewing is hard, especially for a boy who has zero desire to learn. It takes time, certainly 2 weeks is not enough time to learn how to thread a machine and use the various stitches. So when he came home with his finished project, I was floored. I thought it was pretty dang good for his first time. He told me he had trouble with the seam tape! What's seam tape? So his stitching is a little crooked, I'm still impressed. She only gave him a B on it, but in my book, I'd give him an A. Why don't they teach him a more practical skill like sewing on a button or hemming something?

Today was also Meet the Masters..the art class I teach for Jayden's class. I was really excited to teach this lesson and do this project, but from the get go, the kids were out of control. It was Friday, right after lunch and compound that with the fact that they had a sub..It's usually a very good class! I was very patient but they were crazy! It was taking them so long to do the most simplest tasks. They were screaming, running around the room, and I just about lost it when someone threw their paint cup at the trash can but instead it splattered all over the wall. I think I turned the lights off 4 times to get their attention. Nothing was working so I told them we were finished! They would not get to continue with the project and they would have to go back to class.

I told them that I don't like to get upset and that I volunteer to do art because it's fun, but they were being downright disrespectful. The sub took them back to the class, I cleaned up and waited in my car for school to be over.  When Jayden got in the car after school, he handed me a big stack of letters. Each one of the students wrote me an apology letter for their behavior. Some of them are quite hysterical. One said, "If I were you, I'd bench us for 3 months". I know they were sorry and I know next time they will be stellar students!