Good Vibrations

      Some might say that I am a gifted hoarder. I have managed in the eleven years that I have worked at my current job to put together quite a plethora of art supplies. Now to the untrained eye these treasures might be mistaken for mere trash but to the art teacher things like toilet paper rolls, beads and yarn are crafter's gold. We don't see the world the same as other people. Where some normal person might see a milk carton we see a cleverly decorated piece of gothic architecture decked out in full Halloween splendor. They see a styrofoam meat tray and the art teacher sees the basis for a beautiful stamp design. So we are hoarders by our very nature. Art teachers carefully store supplies during the education years of plenty to get us through the inevitable years of famine. We have to prepare so that when the next politician comes along using all his infinite wisdom to convince folks that art doesn't matter and cuts our funding, we are ready!  

      This week I got an email announcing the first art meeting of the school year. Now to be brutally honest I was not terribly excited. It isn't that I don't love my job and all that goes with it but I already have quite a full plate at the present and well who really looks forward to another meeting? Anyway the follow up  email mentioned something about an art supply swap happening at the get together since many of the art teachers are currently on tight budgets if they are fortunate enough to have any art budget at all. The whole idea behind it is, well you know the cliche, one person's junk is someone else's treasure.

     So after class on Monday I was rooting through the cavernous art closet adjacent to the art room trying to get one more thing knocked off my list before I went home. One of my favorite students was helping me with my task by jotting down all of the items I might be willing to spare for this upcoming supply swap. At first it was just a boring -what can I donate to the group-what do I really not want anyway- kind of thing. Now quite honestly I was not too enthused with my task until something clicked, I stopped and said "Wait a minute. There is an opportunity here." My favorite student who also happens to be the president of Junior Civitans knows me well. She knows all about my little weekly projects. We looked at each other as if to say "Pay it Forward." I smiled and she smiled a big smile back. "Let's try an experiment." I said. She grinned. I told her about this theory of mine that what we put out there comes back. "It's like sending out good vibrations and waiting to see how those ripples effect someone else as well as yourself," I told her. "So let's pack a really cool swap box with good junk and stuff that folks would actually want, not just the bottom of the deck things I am willing to part with. I'm going to put in some really cool items that I would not normally give away and let's see how long it takes for something good to come back to me and my art classes." My sweet student lit up "Yeah, Mrs. Sloan. Let's do the experiment! Pay it forward!" Did I say that she is my favorite?

      The whole energy in the room changed. We started moving around the closet noting what we thought was cool and what we thought other teachers might ew and ah over and we had a ball doing it! All that is left now is to pack everything up and haul it to the meeting. I get to clear out my stuffed supply cabinet and help out some colleagues at the same time. Win/win.

      The coolest thing about this whole project was that it wasn't just the clutter in my closet that began to disappear. I also unloaded some nasty internal garbage that had been accumulating for far too long like fear, selfishness, and control. No more worrying that if I give those supplies away I might need them tomorrow. That's ok. If I haven't used them yet, I probably won't need them after all and someone else will benefit from them sooner rather than later. No more thinking that I worked hard to collect all of this stuff, this should be used for my students. Instead of helping just myself, I get the joy of knowing that another teacher benefitted from my endless hoarding and more importantly so did some other students. No more of the I have to keep all of this stuff because it gives me some sense of control over my circumstances. Let's face it, I was never that organized to begin with. :)

      Now instead of dreading the meeting, I am looking forward to it. I might just get the chance to make some other educator's day and I am curious to see if our theory of good vibrations holds true.
To be continued...

Laurie