Postscript
Why do you think I zeroed in on the silly root rather than the orchid flower? I assume that every child's brain already has a picture of a flower ready to draw. This is an obstacle when teaching perception. The part of our brain that learns how to make careful observations does not develop if draw from what our brain thinks that it already knows about how things look. New observations are blocked or overlooked because of these preconceptions. I look for subject matter that the brain has not yet stereotyped and cataloged. Therefore, I often select the mundane, the trivial, the little details, from the child's ordinary experiences. When I talk about this to adults, I say that in order to learn to draw we have to see the world without prejudice - as God sees.

PRINCIPLES TO SELECT SUBJECTS
When teaching perception, it easier if we select subjects that are new and unfamiliar (not yet learned). That is why the root and not the flower was used. A familiar thing like a well loved toy animal can be made to look unfamiliar by turning it upside down, backwards, etc.

When teaching perception it is important to select something that is easy enough to avoid frustration. That is why only one root was selected in this story. Had Ella stopped after the one root, that would have been fine.

It must be challenging enough require some detailed study and concentrated practice in the air. Using both touch and vision is more perceptual than using only vision. That is why a simple square thing, or a simple round thing like a ball, is not very useful.

The thing observed has to be unexpected enough in some way so that careful looking is required.  Avoid things for which the child's brain has already created and stored a stereotyped image.

When teaching perception it is helpful to select subjects that are emotionally important to the person doing the drawing. 

SHARING SECRETS
When I teach I ask children if they can guess why I picked the subject that was picked. I explain the above principles to children so they can use the principles themselves when they practice.
--see more below

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As the teacher, I did no drawing in this drawing lesson.  I draw the line on this. When the teacher begins to draw, the child will stop looking at the real source and begin looking at the adults replica of the source.  This is not learning to see.  This develops a common problem among children. We call it learned helplessness. 

Ella had no chance to copy my drawing.  Ella had to get her visual data from the orchid root itself.  She was learning to be self-sufficient - not dependent and helpless.

I showed observation methods. I never corrected Ella and took every opportunity to affirm and encourage her efforts.  Young children respond positively to positive motivation.  Negative motivation may work to stop something, but it does not work to promote something positive. 

In subsequent lessons I have shown Ella how to use a "blinder" on her pencil.  A blinder is an 8 x 8 inch piece of heavy paper with a small hole in the middle.  Her pencil is placed in the hole.  The blinder hides her paper while she draws a new thing.  This keeps her eyes on the subject instead of the paper.  At age six when Ella wants to draw a new thing she puts the blinder on her pencil and makes practice drawings on her paper.  Often this ends up to be a jumble of lines, but the individual lines are amazingly faithful to their sources.  After this "seeing practice" she takes the blinder off her pencil and makes another drawing while looking at her paper and at the subject. 

At age six, Ella reads well and enjoys leaning to add two digit numbers.   Teachers are good at teaching reading, writing, math, and so on. However, most children have no art teachers that bother to teach them art. Too often their art is mainly offered as relaxation.  Some teachers give them busywork projects.  The busywork is made up of prescribed pictures, tracing, or craft projects that are largely pre designed.  Other teachers simply allow them play around and do whatever they wish.  If I were to choose, I would rather see the 'play around' method than the 'cute craft project' busywork. While these activities are not immediately harmful, they do leave a gap in their education and mental development.  

In many schools art is taught so poorly in the younger years that most children feel totally incompetent by the time they reach grade three.  Only the few who have practiced more excel.  Often the 'talented' ones have parents who are particularly generous with materials and encouragement.  These children are called the 'talented artists' in the class.  The remainder of the class suffer from what is called a "crisis of confidence".  They stop practicing because nobody ever helped them learn how to trust their own perception and practice productively.

Schools in Japan are faulted by some because their culture honors the group more than we do at the expense of the individual.  Children that are particularly gifted and creative are discouraged from being different. "If the nail sticks out, hit it down." is a common saying. This has both positive and negative educational and societal outcomes.  While individual creativity may suffer, the ability to create and produce high quality in groups may be stronger.

Japanese schools include regular observation drawing along with work from memory and imagination in the early school years.  Young children can often be seen in the school flower garden making observation watercolor paintings or out in a plaza painting a fire truck that is placed for their observation.  They all learn to draw as an expected part of the curriculum.  While we tend to give about an hour per week to art instruction, they are apt to allow about three hours per week in the early grades.  They develop extended attention spans and the ability to focus on a task that serves them well in other learning as well. -- more below

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