See you soon

This picture was taken during our first lockdown. It was a week before everyone had to start working from home. I struggled with many things in the beginning but eventually got the hang of it. Sometimes i laugh to myself at the memories we shared. Like for instance, i had a 2hr long class with the Portfolio Kids and my 2nd screen ran out of battery. I was literally in the middle of demonstrating a drawing. I didn't realize they were staring at a blank screen until one of them said "What happened to Teacher Rainn 2???" hahaha. 

Most of us have our own programmes to teach so, it's pretty rare to have all teachers in one class. We did have a couple and it was fun and definitely helpful. When you have 30-40 kids in one session, your screen might not be big enough to see all of them. The coordination between us were chaotic at first but somehow we pulled through. I guess the challenging issue was the fact that almost the whole world was on Zoom. It definitely came with limitations. And we were all on different wifis, devices and locations. The amount of malfunctions we had were pretty extreme. Teaching art online changed how i see things. In a way, our skills are really put to the test. Although it was a new phase and anxiety was sky high because of the unfamiliarity, i felt such an immense amount of drive to be the best that i can ever be. Why? Because their end products are the result of our teaching abilities through a screen. Alhamdulillah, our very first experience was successful and, their completed works look amazing. There is no doubt that our kids are already talented in the first place but, just like me when i was younger, most of them struggle with confidence. In a way, the experience helped them to be independant, to have faith in themselves and to build confidence.

I'm the type of teacher that makes kids erase and redraw until they get it right. I'm not fierce or anything but i guess i'm a lil strict. Haha. There is no right or wrong in art, sure, but each programme differs. If you're in a programme that focuses more on technical skills, of course we are going to emphasize more in that area. 

I was scared and sad at first. About the second "lockdown". I'll miss being in class with the kids and everything. But then i remembered how much i have improved overtime and it makes me feel all positive again. We have a lot of work to catch up on and this "break" would actually allow us to complete our pending works. I know it's a lame thing to say this but everythin truly happens for a reason.

I don't know what the future holds or what it's gonna even look like but, i'm sure we'll survive all of this well. 

Insha'Allah. 

I hope the kids continue to stay safe always. I'll see you again real soon.