Coach Klyde: Art and Development

I can say that I've always had a passion for education and teaching, but I can also say my efforts to become a teacher may seem high. However, through the experiences of my fellow alumni, I've found myself wary of crossing into education full-time. This year I found myself at a crossroads; while my job isn't a ball and chain situation, I felt that it was nearly impossible to have my cake and eat it too. Through my volunteering with The Long Beach Unity Festival as an artist, I was granted an opportunity at the right time that allowed me to educate the youth and seniors on topics that are passionate to me. For the past few years, I've worked with this organization that shares the same passion for community involvement through the arts and sports by volunteering at events as a designer, artist, and photographer, finding my place where it's needed.

While art is an ever-declining subject in school, I feel that it's one of the most important subjects in a child's growth and educational career. While most classes require a right and wrong answer, art allows students to interpret and decide for themselves. Like physical education, art allows for both community and an exercise of the mind through exercises meant for improvement over time. While P.E. was my least favorite subject, I respected the objective being about community, improvement, and self-expression. Like art, these subjects can exist outside the classroom, bringing students together that, with the right guidance, can develop into something special.

This year I was given the opportunity of being a therapeutic art coach to the Sky Kids of Northepointe in Long Beach. This after-school program allows students to engage with artists across a plethora of mediums, including music and dance. As an art coach, my goal is to guide the students through creative concepts meant to teach sharing, decision-making, and creative confidence, while also learning from them what they need and providing creative opportunities to experiment with different materials. I was also given the opportunity of fashion camp, a collaborative effort with another talented designer that I will later elaborate on in a different blog, but it's an honor to have the opportunity to use two of my specific skills to help the youth grow and discover new things about themselves.

Besides this opportunity, I continued my collaboration with Robert F. Kennedy Elementary School by participating in an after-school paint night with students and parents. The initial session with the students last year was so successful that it generated buzz among both students and teachers, leading to an amazing paint night with almost double the attendance. As far as I know, the school lacks an art department or funding, so these paint nights act as a supplement. I look forward to continuing with the students, and I am grateful to my friend Renee Cannon-Jones, the head of music, for giving me this opportunity.

I've learned a few things about myself through this process, and I'm looking forward to possibly growing into a community education leader. While I have the confidence to stand in front of a room and express myself, I noticed there's something different about having the confidence to guide someone through a process from beginning to end. Teaching is more than just giving the lesson; it's about being able to guide and lead through the process, more than listing the steps and repeating yourself. Classroom management has been a privilege as a tall man, so getting the attention I need hasn't been the problem, more so knowing how to regulate the energy of a group of kids. While I have experience babysitting as a kid, dealing with a single child versus a group is vastly different. Ive have enjoyed guiding the students through activities and seeing success in the results but also respecting the unexpected.

In my upcoming blog post, I'll discuss the Eco Earth Fashion Camp. Collaborating with the

talented Jamielle Rankine-Kirlew from MuMa, we've created an incredible fashion camp for the kids at Northepointe. There will be a fashion show showcasing their creations. We've already held one camp where students crafted bags from recycled materials. Stay tuned to see what else these kids can achieve.

Thank you for the support and the read!