How much talking is needed by the art teacher?

The studio is a container for many languages:

Instruments talk.

Materials talk.

A brush speaks in a different language than a spatula or a hammer, or a glue-gun.

A pencil speaks a different language than oil pastel.

My aim is to set these allies in a way that is inviting for the children to begin a process.

I will talk as little as possible and let the objects communicate instead.

Helit Shacham

If this is a setting of a station, what is there to say that is not said by the materials themselves?

Why do I try t talk as little as possible?

1. Talking in the studio is an added massive element: it is both sound and meaning.

In our western culture talking-writing, overshadows other languages. We need to explain in so many words what sitting in meditation is. We have a tendency to cover the world with words and texts as if it is THE correct measure and only one. I see that also in therapy – unless it has words some assume it is not valid. This is also where assessment lives within us in the form of words, numbers as if it is the only truth.

2. Talking in the studio by the teacher encompasses the patina of hierarchy. I will explain: From my decades of observations, I have noticed that if we explain and show how to technically do a project if we lecture it, we immediately close opportunities of discovery. Many children will believe that the teacher’s idea is good and will close their inner channel of experience. They will try to relate to her unspoken expectations.

We do not seem to notice how much power we have. we are the authority by being an adult.  A child sees us, adults, who know, who are capable. If we are taking their space to try, to make mistakes, and experience THEIR joy in discovery, we narrow their abilities to understand that we know something and that fo does not.

So if we want to have a free open space for self-expression we need to answer a few questions in our inner mirror: 

• If I observe myself from aside: Do I fill the air with a lot of talking? When do I talk? When am I silent? Do I choose? Do I notice it at all?
• What are my expectations for and from my students? 
• Do I trust them enough, but I am concerned about what my staff will say about the outcome?
• Do I  truly trust the process more than the presentable product? 
• How much outer pressure of parents and team affect my choices, my freedom?
• How much pressure do I feel concerning assessment? 
• Can I explain and mediate what I am doing? Do I have words for that?
• When should we use talking it? How much?

Thus, my suggestion is that talking in the studio needs to be minimal.

It took me a few years to calm down and not “teach” a lot of the time. When I did relax, miracles began to emerge much more frequently. I learned so much more – also about myself. 

Art educators do not actually need so much talking. Just walk the talk: Do you have Stations? Organize them clearly and they will work on their own. You can also minimalize the texts attached to your working centers, and lessen the “ideas” you share there. Let them discover on their own and teach each other!

If table the table centers are organized well and clear, there is not much to say.

Perhaps Bon Apetit!

Havi Katchalski, Naama Avihud

The studio manager is expected to “speak” many languages and synthesize the richness that unfolds through the process. She “reads” actions; she can be imaginative and flexible and create varied processes through materials, storytelling, music, and dance. Moreover, she comprehends the characteristics of each material and medium and the tools. She grasps the sensory-motor and tactile effect it has on the body. She understands these aspects and connections and can mediate them through text or spoken languages. She can also communicate such a process in psychological and artistic terms and disciplines.

More in my book: The Good Enough Studio

Table centers – less is more