So, tomorrow is the last day of school. Typically, I'd be ecstatic. Typically, I'd make sure I had a solid weak of "downtime" before jumping into the summer swing of things. But atypically, this year, I've got some big travel plans that will make my first days of summer anything but lazy. I'm excited to get busy painting new landscapes. No plein air events, no juried shows, no obligations of any kind...just painting my way across the country because I can. I'll probably post more about this before the car is loaded. Or maybe I won't. Either way, I've got to get myself back into a furious painting mode. Where's my big hat?
Yeah, I'm a high school art teacher. No, I don't teach in order to support my "painting hobby". Yeah, it's a lot of work. No, I'm not too happy about a lot of things in our state's public school system. Yeah, it's a rewarding profession. No, I'm not going to teach forever. Yeah, I love my students. No, I won't make you a poster for your fundraiser because you "can't even draw a straight line" and it's "no big deal for the art teacher". Yeah, I teach a discipline-based curriculum that focuses on art production, art history, aesthetics, and art criticism. No, my students don't get an A for effort. Yeah, many of my students are better artists than I was at that age. No, most students won't pursue an arts-related career. Yeah, I still think art is important. No, I'm not entirely sure that I'm teaching for my students as much as I'm teaching for myself. Yeah, I love my students.
I don't really know how to express all of my feelings about teaching. While I assumed that I'd be stepping away from the profession around this point in my life to pursue my "art" "full-time", I also never figured I'd be considered a "professional artist" at this point in my life. Six years ago, I had given up on finding a teaching position and started pursuing a career painting pictures...so go figure. Right now, it works...so I'm going to keep the ball rolling. I truly believe that teaching art makes me a better artist in some shape (2D) or form (3D). I also believe that I'm in a unique position to share my knowledge of art to young people in my hometown, in the same classroom I studied art as a young person, as a practicing artist and lifelong member of this community. It's a good gig.
You know, when I first started teaching, I had convinced myself that my sole job was to pass on my knowledge of art and ensure that my students left my classroom with a better understanding of art as culture, communication, expression, and knowledge. I still feel a massive obligation to give my students something they can't get anywhere else. But now, with 5 years of teaching under my belt, I understand that my obligations are beyond transferring art knowledge. I'm "the art teacher"...and as some of you may know, being the art teacher means more than just teaching art.
I've developed some great relationships with my students. In fact, more often than not, I feel that I'm interacting with my peers, not "just my students". And while I could attribute some of that to an inadvertent "cool factor" due to age proximity and my slightly wacky personality, I like to hope that it's because my students trust me....not just as a teacher, but as a friend. Don't get me wrong, I can be an absolute pain in the neck if sketchbook assignments aren't turned in on time. But, I think most of my students understand that I'm dedicated to their education because I'm passionate about art and I'm invested in their growth as well-rounded and educated artists in this wild world we live in. Teaching art is not solely "my job".
I'm going to miss some of my seniors and will, no doubt, have a hard time telling them to "keep in touch" at Saturday's graduation ceremony. In fact, I'm going to miss the rest of my students over the summer break, too. Inevitably, I'll lose touch with many of them. But, for what it's worth to any of you reading this, I'm so glad I can call my students my friends. And while I can find too many ways of verbalizing how teaching is so important to me, I'm certain that these cherished friendships are at the root of every explanation. I love my students.
Here's to the Class of 2016 and all of my great friends that I have had the pleasure of teaching. Way to go folks! Art or die!
