Guns & Drawing: Talk it out

by Elizabeth Van Allen  for scribblesbyartteachervanallen.blogspot.com

The infamous illustration

What would you do if a student drew a picture of a gun in your class?   There have been so many terrible acts of gun violence in the last few years, many directed towards children.  These incidents are covered so thoroughly by the media that there's no shelter for anyone -especially kids- from the constant onslaught of disturbing imagery.  As a teacher / responsible adult / mandatory reporter, when a drawing of a gun was made in my class I didn't have the luxury of making an assumption about the child's motives.  I had to address the issue at hand immediately. 

from zazzle.com

This situation is similar to a classic art therapy scenario where a student will only draw with black: is the student using black because they are depressed or because it's the only crayon that has a point?  In this case, is the student is drawing a gun because he saw one on TV or has a toy gun, or has the student had a traumatic experience that involved a gun?  These days as a teacher you can't let something like this go without some investigation.  This is the story of how my experience played out. 

The Setting: A Kindergarten art class on a beautiful day in early June.  
The  Assignment: A quick write-then-draw activity, "Before summer break I want to learn about..." 
The Set-up: I talked with the class about being active learners right up through the last day of school, then we brainstormed things we want to learn more about.  Students are finishing their sentences and illustrating them.
The Disclaimer: Names have been changed, everything here was relayed to the appropriate adults, and I refer to the student as 'he' because the student involved was a boy. 

The Scene:
Two students approach me, it's obvious that there's something wrong.

Student A: "Ms. Van Allen, Bob is drawing a gun!"
Student B: "I saw it, Ms. Van Allen.  We're not supposed to do that!"

My Internal Monologue: "Oh #*@&.  Take a breath.  If you're nervous then he'll be nervous and we'll never find out what's really happening."

I walk with the boys back to their table and sit next to "Bob", who quickly hides his picture.

Me:  "Hi Bob, whatcha working on?" 
Students A & B: "He's hiding his gun drawing, it's under there!"
Me: (giving them the 'teacher' look) "Don't you worry about him, I want you to focus on making your work the best it can be." 
Student Bob, looking worried and defensive, uncovers his drawing.
Me: (friendly smile) "Tell me all about your drawing.  What do you want to learn more about before summer and what did you draw to show it?"
Student Bob: 
" I drew a gun because I want to be a cop."

My Internal Monologue: (Sigh of relief) Ok, that was definitely best case scenario. So what are my options?  I could: 

a) say ok and walk away. (seems cowardly)
b) take the picture away while telling him he shouldn't draw guns and re-direct him to drawing something else he would like to learn about. (would that lead to resentment?)
c) let his classroom teacher know and have her deal with it. (but it's not her issue)
d) guide him through the assignment and make it into a teachable moment for him and the other two students. (hmmm...)

So we all sat down together and had the type of conversation about guns that is appropriate for five year olds.  We discussed what guns are used for (hunting, police & military, to hurt others, etc.), why drawing a gun might make other students and adults nervous, and why we shouldn't draw them in school in the future.  Then I guided "Bob" and his friends through other symbols for the police, and we drew a badge next to the gun.  I wrote the sentence lightly on his paper and he traced it.  Ordinarily I would have encouraged him to do the writing on his own, but who wants a drawing of a gun possibly going home without an explanation?  Not me, that's for sure.

The facts behind the story:

Map courtesy of phillypolice.com

There is a gun violence data search available through slate.com (article name: How many people have been shot in your neighborhood this year?), so I took the liberty of looking up the area where my students live. 

During the last year within a 1-mile radius of the school where I work, there have been 25 shootings, 12 of them fatal.  The closest one was .14 miles away, and one of the most recent incidents resulted in the death of a former student of mine. 

When I think about how my perspective has shifted through my secondhand relationship with street violence, it gives me a good reason to reflect.  I often speak almost casually about it because, while I don't see violence as acceptable, it has become a part of my everyday conversation.  I forget that it isn't a part of everyone's experience.  Sometimes I get embarrassed at the shock and discomfort that others show when I talk about this part of my professional life, but maybe that discomfort is a good thing.  It reminds others that not all children get to experience childhood- a small dose of reality.  For me, the reminder is that life isn't like this for everyone.  Nobody should have to deal with gun violence as an everyday part of life.  

This classroom experience was definitely a best-case scenario.  As adults, we need to be prepared to talk about the realities of our society honestly and appropriately with a variety of age levels.  

What can you do as a trusted adult to better prepare yourself for these inevitable conversations?