An art teacher in a Facebook group is struggling with a very disruptive middle school student who is also very talented in art. As a new teacher, she was seeking advice, and what I posted is shared below. I thought it might be helpful for others facing similar issues.

When a basic re-direction, calling out a behavior, calling home, and perhaps detention does not correct a problem, then doing more punitive measures will surely fail as well. NEVER handle these issues alone when they do not resolve or even escalate. Contact your supervisor and administration as you move forward. It is important to have a trail of communication. I suggest email because if things really get "bad," email is admissible in court should it come to that. Even if you speak 1 on 1 with an administrator, always follow up with an email recap of the conversation. Sometimes behavior that does not improve with typical approaches can be an indication of much more. (Abuse, Homelessness, Drugs, bullying, etc.) 

Please see my "Classroom Management" tabs on the left for much more advice specific to the art room. If you are a new teacher, THIS BOOK, may be very helpful as well.

So here's my reply to her post:

My 30+ years would advise the following...

Pull him in a meeting with a guidance person.

Say to him something like this...

"I pulled you in here, not because you're in trouble, but to talk honestly. Maybe in a way I can't in the classroom. YOU ARE VERY TALENTED, perhaps my #1 art student if you focused on using that talent. This makes me sad to see someone with so much talent use their time to bring a class down. (Pull in some personal info so the child knows you know) I know it's just Mom at home, and I know that for some that can be really tough. Sometimes you need to step up and take charge, "be the man of the family." That takes real strength. I know you have great strength. The other students look to you, so that also means you're a leader. I would not be supposed if someday you became famous in some profession, even if it's not art... But being the man, the leader, being strong, does not mean being the bully.

(Make it personal to elicit empathy) I feel sad when you whisper mean things. It hurts inside. I am a new teacher, and I wish I had your strength, but I hope to use it to teach something I really love, like art. I also like ____, ______, ______ too, but I spent 4 years in college to teach art.

I wanted to bring you in today to see what I may be doing in class that is making you so angry at me that you say mean things and hurt other student's work? I am here to tell you I am willing to look at that and make changes. When someone acts mean, it often means that they have been hurt. So I want to make sure I am not hurting you in any way. Is there anything I can do to make our student-teacher relationship better?

(Listen time)

If there are things outside of school that are making you feel stressed out and act out of anger. Your guidance person here can help too. (Guidance person speaks)

I want us to come up with a list of things we can do to make things better in art. What can we do together to make the situation better? New seat? Time-out chair in the hall if you get angry and need to chill?

What rewards can we come up with for both of us if we can make things better or work through this and improve our class? (You get to use clay? You get some special material to play with when you finish your project well? Pizza for lunch for a month of good behavior? Fun size candy at the end of a good week?)

And if you overheat, what should we do about that, like consequences? I know suspension, and detentions are not right for you. What can we agree to do when you lose your cool? Is there an administrator or guidance person you should be sent to to talk it out? Let's come up with a plan."

<<<If none of this works, put him in a chair, at a single table, every time he acts up. His assigned seat should be right in front of your desk, no getting up till he shows he can handle it. Send him out if he disrupts the education of the class. Move to a 1 strike rule but get an admin to okay this and seek their advice moving forward. Focus on how this one child is hurting the education of others in the room. >>>

Martin Luther King Jr's speech has been studied and lauded as a great work of oratory on the level of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, or Winston Churchill's, "We Shall Fight on the Beaches," or Frederick Douglass', "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" Or Maya Angelou's, "On the Pulse of Morning."
 
In this assignment, I have students review and highlight portions of King's speech that they feel attract their attention or they feel are important lines from the speech. Then we begin to doodle some images based on these lines. We then share in a circle or small groups what stood out and how we are thinking to illustrate those points seeking feedback from peers.

Then we begin to sketch with the idea of integrating text and imagery. THIS lesson and THIS one integrate text and image to illustrate a song. Here though, instead of a song we are using a speech. I have chosen to focus on Mr. King's speech to tie into Black History Month, but you, as a teacher, could open this idea to other works of great oratory. THIS page will connect you to the top 35 speeches in history, and THIS page will take you to "10 Inspirational Women."
 
My video introduction for this lesson is below. Samples of some works I found on the internet that were based on King's "I have a Dream" speech are below that. I have also uploaded a video of his speech from YouTube and the text of this speech you may copy and paste for your students end this post.

From K through 12 we review and cover the Art Elements of Design, and the Art Principles of design. I created some video reviews many years ago, but have finally updated them for my workbooks found HERE. 

I try to show how one concept connects to the next so they flow in a way to make understanding more intuitive... like how a line can become a shape, which can become a form, that we can add color too, etc...

I often leave these videos with a sub and have students complete notes in our workbooks, but this is also an easy way to cover the vocabulary for students at all levels. For my elementary students, it is an introduction, but for my high school students, it is a basic review so we can all be up to speed together. 

In the high school I teach at, students do not all have the same background in art. Some have had 8 full years of art, while others may never have had art at all. Some come from programs with a great deal of academic exposure, and others have been in programs that almost never touch on vocabulary. Some programs are rigorous, while others are not much more than babysitting with coloring sheets. These videos help everyone understand the basic vocabulary I expect them to understand, and we build from there. 

I spend one day on the Elements, and one day on the Principles. They have a quiz the following week, and the information appears again on the end of quarter exam. As students complete assignments, they are expected to explain their artwork, their process, and highlight at least 3 vocabulary words in their writing for full credit. Learning vocabulary and not using it is a waste of all our time. I often show them how our vocabulary overlaps with math and science classes.

Light is absorbed by an object, and reflects the color we see...
Mass refers to the visual or actual weight of an object...
Referring to symmetrical and symmetrical balance as we work...
Or discussing organic and mechanical patterns or textures...

If you find these video resources helpful, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. I will be uploading many more resource videos for things like this, media handling, and lessons there.

This project is a great way to begin the new year with a reflection on the past year. Though this is focuses on 2020 and references the pandemic, this could work for any year in review.

This allows students a chance to review their year on their cell phones, and social media. They should be encouraged to create a list of events, both positive and negative for a balanced illustration. My students will consider events that are personal, community-based, and global.

It is better to avoid text and try to work with visual symbols. This project might make for an interesting time capsule to be looked at, at a later time. Students could be given this project in 4th grade and be given it back as they graduate from high school.

Google Doodles are a good resource for images that utilize text and imagery. I tried to focus on examples where both the positive and negative space is used. I put thin drawing paper through a copier for my students to sketch on. My introductory students can use that paper for their final image. My advanced students will be expected to create their own text to illustrate. This is just something I wanted to try, so a pre-drawn year is hardly a requirement. I just wanted my new students to not work too small which is a constant battle. 

My school starts it's semester with the new year, so for me, this is a great way to start a new group of students. Many schools however have a few more weeks before their semester ends, so this may make for a good transition project to get students back into their creative groove after an extended vacation.

I wear a lot of hats as an art teacher, and one of them is "Origami Master." It does not pay the rent, but I have been doing Origami since I was 5 or 6, and inventing many original models. This is one of them.

This is a bit more challenging than the average crane, which is already difficult for many children... This model comes from a more simple design for a fish you can see HERE. 

​There are a few videos on how to make this simple version, one is below.

As a "master" though, I strive to not use scissors... so my design, with a bit of innovation, turns the paper in-side-out to make the tail. My model is also not the typical strict one... It's like a base that can be altered in many ways and still end up with a fish. Once understood, it's fun to play with the different variables and create long fins, short fins, wide tails, skinny tails, top fins or without... anyway you do it, it looks like a different fish.