Why I Teach
"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." ~Jacques Barzun
I am currently teaching adults how to draw. I have been teaching this class for 11 years and my current class is one of the most enjoyable groups I have had the priviledge to work with, and I mean that sincerely. There are so many things that I LOVE about teaching adults. But, I have to admit what I like the best is that the like me, and get my jokes. They bring me treats, and best of all they tell me I am a good teacher. It is so nice to hear, because let's face it, teachers are often under appreciated.
I have taught preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and adults; in museums, camps, art centers, schools, churches, and even my home. Mostly, though, I have taught middle school. And the person I was at the time, she loved it. They are the most quirky, funny, enjoyable people on earth (perhaps when you are not their parents). They do the craziest things and are so creative, but often not artistically. In fact, I had to institute the "just because I laugh at you, does not mean you are not in trouble" rule when I taught middle school, because those kids (who are all now adults) were quite a trip.
But with middle school also comes hormones, and in Geogria paperwork, and all the "downsides" to being a teacher like bad attitudes, bad behavior, and unsupportive parents (or administrators). I have been away from teaching middle school for almost 10 years. And I have to say I have not missed it, until recently. At the time I left, I was embarking on a new journey -- motherhood. And, I was also burnt out from all the things about my job that were not related to art, which was what I was there for.
Then, just last week, during my adult class, a woman inquired as to how I decided to become an art teacher. I thought a minute, and in a flash so many things flooded my brain.......
It all started when I was in 9th grade I took art "because all my friends were taking it". I did fine, but was not the best or most talented in the class, and I was never the kind of kid that just had "natural talent". I took Art 2 my sophomore year because my teacher in Art 1 said I should. During my sophomore year my teacher and I were talking about my future one day, and she said...."I think you would make a fantastic art teacher". And that was it. I never looked back. Never. I wish she was still alive to know what a profound impact she made in my life, in one simple conversation on a trip to the zoo, because that is what teaching is about.
When I became a teacher, I taught an 8th grade student during one of my first few years, who, let's say, had a bit of a bad attitude. He did the required work, with a lot of goofing off, until one day he announced, "I quit art", tossing all his work in the trash, sitting down, folding his arms. A few days later, we began a fun, exciting papier mache project and I could tell by looking at him that "George" wished he had not quit art. So, sheepishly, he came to me and asked, "can I start art again", and of course, I said YES! Well, "George" not only started art, "George" transformed! He researched the animal he was constructing, made the legs once, twice, three times to get the proportion correct. "George" came to my room during study hall and after school catch up sessions to work on his project. He won a prestigious award for the project, one that I had many times vied for, and never won. After we got him going in the right direction artistically, one day he asked me if I thought his algebra teacher (who I happened to coach basketball with) would be willing to give him some extra help. Sure, I replied and conveyed the message to her. She helped, and up came his D to a B. The next thing I know, "George" has to do a biography book report where he will be dressing as the person he has chosen (Leonardo da Vinci), and he wants to know if I have a palette and some other props to help him out. For me as a teacher, this student was the most remarkable experience of my teaching career to date because I really felt I made an impact however large of small I didn't know, but in the space of that semester, I saw real change, and big change. I told the women in my class about him last week, and they all got goosebumps, and wanted to know what had happened to him.
Sadly, I moved the year after I taught George. For years I wondered how he was...did he stick with art, did he do well in school, did my efforts mean anything. I asked friends who taught at the high school there if they knew him or if he was doing well, but didn't get much feedback. I never forgot his name. And from time to time I would wonder (and even google!!). And, then came facebook. I found him on facebook and sent him a message, not sure he would remember me (he did) and asked how he was doing (he was doing well). Best of all, at the time I contacted him, he was attending (and about to graduate from) the Cleveland Institute of Art. Wow. I remember looking at that email for some time and feeling so so happy.
I look back at that time and I like to think that I planted a seed. It took a little while to grow, but it did. And I am sure his fantastic high school teachers, and professors, and parents, and friends all had a piece in it, but I did too. And that, is why I teach. One of the ladies from my class said, "you know, whatever else you endured that year, bad kids, or mean kids, headaches from parents....it was all worth it, just for this one person". And she is right. Lucky for me, that year was remarkable, and so there was much more enjoying than enduring.
I love my adults. I love to see them learning to draw after years in careers that paid the bills, but weren't their true calling in life. I love to see them grow in confidence. But, I also love them for what they give me; laughs and fun, and a night away from the duties of cooking, dishes, baths, and bedtime routines. That relationship is mutually beneficial. Middle schoolers....at times that relationship doesn't feel beneficial to anyone. But at the end of they day, or the year, or decade, you can see that it is. And that is what teaching is all about. And that, is why I teach.
I am currently teaching adults how to draw. I have been teaching this class for 11 years and my current class is one of the most enjoyable groups I have had the priviledge to work with, and I mean that sincerely. There are so many things that I LOVE about teaching adults. But, I have to admit what I like the best is that the like me, and get my jokes. They bring me treats, and best of all they tell me I am a good teacher. It is so nice to hear, because let's face it, teachers are often under appreciated.
I have taught preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school, and adults; in museums, camps, art centers, schools, churches, and even my home. Mostly, though, I have taught middle school. And the person I was at the time, she loved it. They are the most quirky, funny, enjoyable people on earth (perhaps when you are not their parents). They do the craziest things and are so creative, but often not artistically. In fact, I had to institute the "just because I laugh at you, does not mean you are not in trouble" rule when I taught middle school, because those kids (who are all now adults) were quite a trip.
But with middle school also comes hormones, and in Geogria paperwork, and all the "downsides" to being a teacher like bad attitudes, bad behavior, and unsupportive parents (or administrators). I have been away from teaching middle school for almost 10 years. And I have to say I have not missed it, until recently. At the time I left, I was embarking on a new journey -- motherhood. And, I was also burnt out from all the things about my job that were not related to art, which was what I was there for.
Then, just last week, during my adult class, a woman inquired as to how I decided to become an art teacher. I thought a minute, and in a flash so many things flooded my brain.......
It all started when I was in 9th grade I took art "because all my friends were taking it". I did fine, but was not the best or most talented in the class, and I was never the kind of kid that just had "natural talent". I took Art 2 my sophomore year because my teacher in Art 1 said I should. During my sophomore year my teacher and I were talking about my future one day, and she said...."I think you would make a fantastic art teacher". And that was it. I never looked back. Never. I wish she was still alive to know what a profound impact she made in my life, in one simple conversation on a trip to the zoo, because that is what teaching is about.
When I became a teacher, I taught an 8th grade student during one of my first few years, who, let's say, had a bit of a bad attitude. He did the required work, with a lot of goofing off, until one day he announced, "I quit art", tossing all his work in the trash, sitting down, folding his arms. A few days later, we began a fun, exciting papier mache project and I could tell by looking at him that "George" wished he had not quit art. So, sheepishly, he came to me and asked, "can I start art again", and of course, I said YES! Well, "George" not only started art, "George" transformed! He researched the animal he was constructing, made the legs once, twice, three times to get the proportion correct. "George" came to my room during study hall and after school catch up sessions to work on his project. He won a prestigious award for the project, one that I had many times vied for, and never won. After we got him going in the right direction artistically, one day he asked me if I thought his algebra teacher (who I happened to coach basketball with) would be willing to give him some extra help. Sure, I replied and conveyed the message to her. She helped, and up came his D to a B. The next thing I know, "George" has to do a biography book report where he will be dressing as the person he has chosen (Leonardo da Vinci), and he wants to know if I have a palette and some other props to help him out. For me as a teacher, this student was the most remarkable experience of my teaching career to date because I really felt I made an impact however large of small I didn't know, but in the space of that semester, I saw real change, and big change. I told the women in my class about him last week, and they all got goosebumps, and wanted to know what had happened to him.
Sadly, I moved the year after I taught George. For years I wondered how he was...did he stick with art, did he do well in school, did my efforts mean anything. I asked friends who taught at the high school there if they knew him or if he was doing well, but didn't get much feedback. I never forgot his name. And from time to time I would wonder (and even google!!). And, then came facebook. I found him on facebook and sent him a message, not sure he would remember me (he did) and asked how he was doing (he was doing well). Best of all, at the time I contacted him, he was attending (and about to graduate from) the Cleveland Institute of Art. Wow. I remember looking at that email for some time and feeling so so happy.
I look back at that time and I like to think that I planted a seed. It took a little while to grow, but it did. And I am sure his fantastic high school teachers, and professors, and parents, and friends all had a piece in it, but I did too. And that, is why I teach. One of the ladies from my class said, "you know, whatever else you endured that year, bad kids, or mean kids, headaches from parents....it was all worth it, just for this one person". And she is right. Lucky for me, that year was remarkable, and so there was much more enjoying than enduring.
I love my adults. I love to see them learning to draw after years in careers that paid the bills, but weren't their true calling in life. I love to see them grow in confidence. But, I also love them for what they give me; laughs and fun, and a night away from the duties of cooking, dishes, baths, and bedtime routines. That relationship is mutually beneficial. Middle schoolers....at times that relationship doesn't feel beneficial to anyone. But at the end of they day, or the year, or decade, you can see that it is. And that is what teaching is all about. And that, is why I teach.
WOW... what a story!! I remember that after a long time eating in my grandma's favorite restaurant in Rocky River, Ohio, my mom finally went with us. I had not realized at that point that she actually knew the owner ... a woman from Lebanon, about 25 years younger than my mom. Turns out that my mom had the lady in her first year of school in the US... when she didn't speak a word of English! The lady came over to our table and told me how she knew my mom and how much my mom meant to her. Amazing, huh? That's not the only teary-eyed story that I have about my mom's impact on her students, but you are so right ... it only takes one to make sense of it all. And, you are also right that just because you find it hard to raise your own kids doesn't mean that you cannot make a difference to another mom's kid. Great story - thanks for sharing!! And, keep up the good work!!
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