Competition

 

Lynn had been going to the art class at the 会馆 for the past 2 years.  Last year end, towards the last few lessons, she said that she doesn't want to go to class the next week, nor she wanted to continue with the art class this year.  I found out later that it's because there's a competition at year end that she doesn't want to attend.  I knew that she actually enjoys the class, so I still sign her up for the art class this year despite her protest.

This year, the same thing happened again; she doesn't want to go to class on Nov10 for the competition.  I do not know what makes her so afraid of competition.  I talked to her, explaining that  she need not be afraid as long a she prepares for it, and that it's ok to lose.  I helped her to decide on a theme (she chose to draw butterfly), and then helped her to practise at home.  This was what she drew on the competition day itself:

As you can see, she's not good at drawing, but I never expect her to excel in art anyway.  I just wanted her to be able to draw and express herself when she needs to.  I intend to let her continue with the lesson next year.  I hope that she learn a valuable lesson on coping with competition and stress.  It was a great opportunity to teach her that competition is part and parcel of life, and that we shouldn't run away from it.  Instead we must learn to deal with it.

In the following week, I saw the school put in drawings of kids who won the competition.  These kids are good:

Last Friday, Lynn gave me a painting of a flower, using water colour and glue with sparkles.  It's not a good drawing, but I really love it.