THAT TEACHER

          In Tennessee it is here. The week of....
                              TESTING TIME!


Yep, and in our school we are "celebrating" test week by dressing as minions from Despicable Me as we have "a minion reasons to believe you will succeed!"

Personally - I am thinking it is more like -

 

So anyhow... today while testing 7 of the 4th graders (and sitting watching them for 3 hours) I was thinking back (okay, WAY back) from when I was in elementary. We all have that ONE (or if you are lucky more than one) teacher that just got to you. You know...
                                    "THAT TEACHER."
 The one who might not even know that she was the one who inspired you, got to you, said just the right thing that you will never forget. Mine was... you guessed it.. .the art teacher.

I do not even know her name! Think Mississippi in the late 1970's.... Casey Elementary in Jackson, MS to be exact... I think we had art maybe once a MONTH?
What I remember is I LOVED her class...she was the SPARKLY, LIVELY, LOOK AT THAT TREE!, FUN, COOL TEACHER... but then one week she gave us
                                         A TEST!
Let me add here - I was NOT one for tests... not the smartest crayon in the box....
 

 I remember walking in (first) and reading the board. I was reading the questions aloud and obviously said an answer wrong - she looked at me and said, "Now Lisa, I KNOW you know these answers. You are so SMART." Let me just say  - from her - that made my YEAR. (maybe even whole school career)
I still don't think till this day I have ever heard those words from another school teacher.
 I got my inspiration from the art teacher who came and went - - - what about you?
 

Who inspired you? Better question - who are you inspiring?

 

I saw 2 great posts from other art teachers this week and I must share them both.
 

The first is from Mel Hebert and although I do not know her at all... I get a feeling her student's might just say she is THAT teacher. Take a look at what some of her students wrote on a test question about RESEARCH sources:

 

Can you say someone was listening in art class???? How funny is that?  

 

Also.. and one post this week that really touched me and got me thinking about the real impact we all have on our student's lives  - a post from another art teacher I have never met: Noel Cole. I am sure many of you like myself have seen the news on Nepal and the horrific photos coming from that area. Noel posted a photo of her former student  Dan Fredinberg, "Google Executive, adventurer and inventor who was killed in the avalanche on Mtn. Everest this past weekend. RIP Dan, humanity has lost a brilliant, creative mind and amazing soul."

 

(photo when he was in 8th grade - love that she still had it!)

 

No doubt she was one of his "THAT TEACHERS." My heart to her, his family, and friends.

Noel asked me to share there is a charity that Dan started while in Napal and also this is a link to the fundraiser called Celebrating Dan:

https://www.crowdrise.com/celebratingdan

 

So I end with this - as testing continues tomorrow, I am making a promise to myself (and to those 7 I am with) to be THAT TEACHER - at least for a few hours. You just never know who you may be inspiring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS IS WHY

I have been thinking since the NAEA conference about what is it that is MY thing... what would be my niche in a blog? What can I share to the art teacher world that they would want to read - especially since I am a FIRST year (technically 2 but that is another story) art teacher???

..and then it HIT ME. So, yes, this is my 1st year in Art but I have been teaching for 14 years and I have a TRUTH that ALL REAL ART TEACHERS ALREADY KNOW -

                      WE ARE THE LAST OF THE TRUE ARTISTS OF TEACHERS.


We all have heard stories how good teachers are leaving the field due to tests, demands, low pay, common core, etc.... Well - it is that and so much more than that to me.
See, I am a teacher first. I have been to THE OTHER SIDE. I am and forever will be a teacher - it just pours out of me whether I like it or not. (just ask my husband) I have taught in the classroom and I see the demands. I see what is being asked of the students AND the teachers. I think most are in agreement that something needs to change - because the art of teaching is dying.

I switched to art teacher for none of the reasons above. At the time, I just knew the art teacher was leaving and I have always wanted to teach Art. I LOVE art and love being creative. Even then I did not realize what I now know - I left the regular classroom so that I could become the teacher I should be.

I have always held these beliefs about my career but over time had forgotten how important they are to MY definition of a TEACHER:
1.) A good teacher believes in herself.
2.) A good teacher enjoys life.
3.) A good teacher does something for herself everyday.
4.) A good teacher does something for someone else everyday - and does NOT want credit for it.
5.) A good teacher learns something new everyday - and shares it.
6.) A good teacher allows for students each day to reach THEIR dreams.

When I teach Art, I am more those beliefs. I feel more like a REAL teacher than I have in awhile... and I KNOW the kids are pushed to THINK more.

A few of the truths that this year in the art room has taught me:
there is more than one way to get the answer,
it is ok to think different,
a mistake can turn into the most beautiful part,
beauty comes in lots of forms,
life is messy,
and most important - sometimes you just got to throw a little glitter on it!

That to me is the art of teaching.

                                  Thank you ART TEACHERS!




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