Teaching the Creative Ones

I have to get used to the fact that physical discipline is accepted here. But it’s not been easy.

Anna or “Teacha”, as the kids call her––is a local teacher with whom I teach. My heart wrenches every time she disciplines one of the kids with a swift smack to their tiny palms with a ruler.

It’s been tough getting Oscar through the alphabets. But I finally figured it out: he’s an artist. So I’ve been giving him free time to draw. I’m not sure if this is what a teacher calls a “breakthrough,” but it feels kind of awesome.

Oscar is one of the kids who gets it the most. He’s got this mischievous little smile to match his personality, and it gets him in trouble all the time.

It’s been tough getting him through the alphabets, but I think I finally figured it out: he’s an artist.

I can resonate with that. I was the kid who went into her own world anytime you gave me a box of colored pencil and a blank slate. So I’ve been giving him free time to draw. I’m not sure if this is what you call a “breakthrough” but it feels kind of awesome. The kids all love my camera. But Oscar is especially intrigued by it.

I have to get used to the fact that physical discipline is accepted here. But it’s not been easy.

It’s been tough getting him through the alphabets, but I think I finally figured it out: he’s an artist.

The other day, I let him go crazy with my Nikon. This is what he captured: