Re:children's drawings

In 1970 I taught Aboriginal kids in the Northern Territory, Australia. For Art lessons we rolled out a sheet of cartridge paper the length of the classroom & the children drew 'their country.' The kids happily added to each other's work. One child drew a tree & others put birds in the tree, under the tree, berries in the tree, the sun shining through the tree, & another had a person climbing the tree & so on. I was fascinated by their ideas & skills. We hung the mural on the wall & visitors admired it for weeks. Students often discussed the drawing & some students added details long after the lesson. Some murals were taken around the district by the kids & rolled out & discussed with the elders.

I was teaching in Wellington, New Zealand a few years later. For the first Art lesson I rolled out paper the length of the classroom. There was some objection to sitting on the floor to 'do art.' Then a great deal of confusion & frustration as the children drew & fenced off boundaries & guarded their territory. At the end of the lesson the class insisted that we cut out 'their pictures.' I was fascinated & amused.

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