Early on this year, I noticed this necklace that one of my students wears.
And I loved it.
 |
| He is never not wearing it. |
This necklace is exactly what I wish I were wearing. Every day.
And I wondered where he got it. The whole aesthetic of it is so perfect. Together, but not too together, a little messy, edgy, asymmetrical, cool, fun. Pretty much what I aspire to, actually. And fail to achieve, might I add.
Maybe it's from an island far away where everyone is relaxed, and they all sit around making cool accessories out of lambs wool and coconut fibers. A perfect souvenir.
SO, I asked this sweet face, where did you get that necklace?
Student: Mrs. Elliott, I made it last year. With you. In art class.
Me: Um, huh? We didn't make necklaces last year... (er, um... searching memory... could be wrong...)
Student: No, we made bracelets at the end of the year. I turned mine into this necklace. I never take it off.
Student 2: Not even to shower? What about when you swim?
Student: Not even to shower. I never, ever take it off.
You just never know how lessons you teach will live on.
It's serious food for thought, actually. This artist should do more weaving.
Most students wear their bracelets for a day, or maybe a week. But sometimes, a lesson is really important to someone, and you never know to whom it might be important. Totally unpredictable. I just taught sewing in third grade, and a young man told me it was the best part of art class, ever. Who would have known? And it makes me wonder- why have I not sewn earlier with this child? How did he feel about weaving? Should I carry sewing into the next lesson?
In my life, the special carry-over is a recipe from my sixth grade teacher that I still make each
holiday season. She made it each year with the entire sixth grade, a huge, unforgettable,
candy-making extravaganza.
It really is an incredible gift- a gift to the teacher- when a skill you taught or an object
a student made with you becomes a treasured part of a child's life.
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