Kristina Peay: Don’t Tell My Mom She Was Right
I grew up as a child who didn’t like children. I didn’t want kids, I didn’t want to teach kids, I didn’t even want to be near them, and this mentality never changed as I continued to grow into an adult. However, even as a child, my mom always said I would be a great teacher. I’d roll my eyes at her and complain that teaching means I’d have to deal with kids that are loud and whiny. What if they don’t listen to me? How in the world am I supposed to deal with the misbehaving kids I was never going to have the patience for? My mom obviously had no clue what she was talking about. Her daughter was not cut out to be near kids.
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When I first met with my supervisor Taylor for my internship at the Arts Center of Greenwood, I had no clue she was over the youth programs there. My internship was focused on their ceramics studio and clay classes, which I assumed would be mostly adult classes. I quickly found out there were just as many youth classes (if not more). As I started, worrying about working with children wasn’t a problem because I was doing behind-the-scenes work rather than helping out in classes or at youth events. I was learning the ropes, cleaning the studio, and helping prepare materials for upcoming classes. As classes finished up, I would help glaze the youth class’s artwork but never had to interact one-on-one with anyone younger than me.
After spending some time getting into the flow of how the Arts Center runs their classes, Taylor asked me to start helping out at some of their weekend events. Most of the roles I had were fairly simple. I would do things like sit at a station and supervise, not having to say much, or to walk around and help where needed.
One particular event that really stuck with me was Family Fun Day. For this event, Taylor asked me to man a table where the children would have balls of clay they could play with. I just needed to explain what the table was for, that the kids could make whatever they wanted, and that they could not take the clay home once they were done making things. This last part made me a little nervous because explaining to a kid why they can’t take something they worked hard to create home was a daunting task. What if they started to cry or get mad at me? How was I going to console this child?
My worries were quickly put to an end as I realized children can be a lot easier going than I thought. Only a couple asked about what would happen to their creation, the rest happily left without worrying about the fact that I was about to undo their work. The couple of children who did ask were understanding of the situation and gladly left their pieces in my hands. Maybe this is because some of them had their parents by their side, or maybe I was just too judgmental towards those younger than me.
I really enjoyed myself at this event, where I was surrounded by children the whole time. In fact, one kid in particular really made my day while I was there. Rory was the son of some other volunteers that were there, so he had to stay the whole time. I had seen him playing at the different tables, but he stayed away from the clay table for quite some time. Eventually, he came over and sat down on the stool and began talking to me. He would ask me all kinds of questions, was friendly to the other kids who stopped by the table, and would happily talk about things he enjoyed. Rory would come and go to the clay table after we first met during the rest of the event. Towards the end, he told me he had never used clay before but really liked it; he wanted to ask his parents to start taking clay classes at the Arts Center. This moment really filled my heart with joy. Rory and I bonded as we talked while building with the clay. His easy-going attitude and joy in learning made me feel like my time at that event was successful. Even if it was just Rory who went home finding a new love for clay, it made me satisfied knowing I could help children find an interest in an art form I dearly love.
As my time at the Arts Center continued, I also began to sit in on the youth clay classes as an observer and as a documenter. While I wasn’t teaching the classes, the children would still ask for my help and start conversations. Every experience I had sitting in on these classes was positive. There was excitement and a desire to learn in all of the children I talked to and witnessing that made me really inspired, far more than I ever thought I would be. I think because I have an immense love for working with clay, I have this innate desire to spread the excitement I feel with others. I began to see through youth engagement with clay, there was so much potential to create more artists and creatives. The youthful mind truly has a desire to learn and experience new things, and I became unexpectedly drawn to this.
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Reflecting on my internship at the Arts Center made me realize a desire I never knew I had. I wanted to spread the joy I felt towards clay to others, and there’s no better way to do this than through teaching others. I used to be so closed off to the idea of teaching because I let the fear of interacting with children take hold of me, but after first-hand experience working with children, I finally understood why teachers strive to do what they do. It’s rewarding to take your love for something and share it with others, to be able to inspire them to try their best in that field even if it’s something they might not end up liking. I absolutely could never spend the whole day teaching children like some people do, but now, I can definitely see myself teaching ceramics classes in a similar setting to the Arts Center’s.
So, I guess my mom was right all along. I don’t know if I’ll be a good teacher, but I would like to become one. Just don’t tell my mom she was right because I’ve already broken the news to her, and I don’t think she’ll ever stop telling me “I told you so.”
Kristina Peay is from Lexington, South Carolina. She is graduating in Spring 2024 with a BFA in 3D Visual Arts and a minor in Art History. During the Fall and Spring semesters of the 2023-2024 academic year, she interned at the Arts Center of Greenwood. After graduation, she plans to continue her own ceramics studio practice while pursuing work in a gallery’s education program.