Joy Through Challenge

Author: Bella Ward

I think a benefit to the virtual community service ArtistCorps members are doing this semester is the creation of permanent content. Because our teaching is captured through video form, the lesson is available forever, online. This allows room for a child to rewatch a portion of a lesson they need further help on, rather than moving on before mastering a skill, as might happen in a live classroom where the teacher has multiple students to focus on at the same time.

With this benefit comes a challenge for us creators. Our work is permanent, therefore demands more focus, detail, and clarity. There is no flow of improv in these videos, we must write a script for our lesson plan and execute it. We also aren’t able to respond to questions from kids, so are missing the natural flow of conversational teaching. We must instead anticipate questions on our own and address them. Above all else, comes the challenge of finding joy in teaching when we cannot actually see the impact we have on the kids we serve. But this challenge certainly is surmountable, and I’ve greatly enjoyed making ArtistCorps videos for young students and learning new skills.