I found it so frustrating to read that some teachers exhibit such control over their students’ explorations as to limit color choice in children’s painting experiences. And the rationale that children are too focused on their movements to appreciate or really need color options is even more frustrating to me.
As Pile says earlier in the work, “Our job as teachers is to sustain an atmosphere conducive to [our students’] growth, to find experiences that will stimulate learning, and to present materials with time and space adequate for expression.” Those teachers who limit the materials for their students to explore with are not performing that job, in my opinion.
Perhaps the concern is cleanup, but my reaction to that would be, “Come on! It’s just paint!” In my opinion, it’s not worth the consequence of keeping a child from finding their full potential in working with the materials. And besides, students can – and should – be enlisted to help in the cleanup. Guidelines for cleanup procedures can be set before students are given the materials so they know what is expected of them.
In my opinion, it’s not for the teacher to say what colors can and can’t be used in a child’s organic exploration of paint and other art materials. Yes, I think students need to be taught how to interact with the materials to a certain degree so that brushes aren’t being used to fling water at other students and so that cleanup runs smoothly. But when it comes to their work with the materials, students should be given every opportunity to familiarize themselves and work with ALL of the materials available to them.
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