This week the day started and ended like all the previous ones at the school... busy. Last week during the class one of the little girls had a problem painting in her eyes on her puppets head. The task itself was very straightforward but there are always one or two in the class, who do not believe they can do something. I decided to show her how she could go about it, by anchoring her little finger to the puppet and then having a sturdier hand to paint the difficult lumpy area. The artist spotted me helping her and came over to ask me not to do it for her. The purpose of the whole exercise she explained, was for them to do it themselves. I totally understood what she meant and wondered, if it was my place to try and show them little tips to make things easier for themselves or just to leave them at it. On reflection this was not a skills workshop so I was not doing the right thing by showing her how to do it. I was quite taken aback at the time, as I did not think it was that big a deal, but I can see now, that the aim of the project was to let them do it themselves.
In class this week on Friday, all the boat project people and the book transcript people seemed to be talking about their project and what was happening, and how they were going to meet up and talk with the people in their group and it got me thinking that the project I chose, was probably not the most 'community based' experience I could have become involved with. I chose it because I really enjoy working with kids, they are free of all the negativity that adults usually have. I had done loads of similar types of workshops like these before. But maybe that is not what this is all about. Maybe it is about getting totally out of your comfort zone, getting in there for the dreaded 'group' experience. Thrashing it out with others, who you don't see eye to eye with, going home irritated and frustrated and reflecting on how you could 'do it better' next time. This its seems is the way to learn. Not just to have an experience but to be able to reflect on that experience.
My project somehow doesn't have the same input required as the others seem to have, although I am probably working quite hard (according to the artist). Others seem mainly to be taking photos of there experiences and recounting what was being discussed when they go there. Although I really enjoy my project every week, I feel a bit guilty, as I feel like I should be learning some major life- altering experience each week either about the people I am working with or about the project, and I am not...and I am just doing it because I am enjoying the experience. I tend to chose things that I know will give me the least amount of aggravation lately. Why.. I don't know. I dislike confrontation, I suppose, I try to avoid arguments if I can, because I just feel like life is just too short to get into annoying situations that go on for years. Anyhow now that that's been said, I will carry on regardless, because it is fun and I am enjoying the experience and I can't say that about alot of the other things that are going on in my life at the moment.
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