Teacher Lineage

TEACHER LINEAGE

 

My lineage begins and ends with my mom. She has always been a huge support for me. She has encouraged me to follow my dreams in art and is always ready to help me out in any way. 

Next, was a teacher that taught me how NOT to be. She was my elementary school teacher and she was feared by most of her students. She has taught me to always be on my feet and walking around my classroom. I remember her yelling, "It's not purple, it's VIOLET!". To this day, I still dislike the color violet, because it reminds me of her. 

Then, I went to a special art class that was located in Mrs. Nemo's shed. She is the reason I was persuaded to become an art teacher. She taught the fundamentals and then let us choose how we would blossom as artists. She gave me the opportunity to teach and encouraged me to pursue a career in art education. I remember that she was incredibly generous and taught for the love of teaching not for profit. 

In college, I had a large number of teachers that inspired me. Some taught me how I should be and some taught me what not to do. Although, all of these teachers had varying methods, they all had one thing in common: Their love of art and/or teaching. They help me remember that it is about the students and the love of the subject. Here's a breakdown of each:

Louder couple: they both loved art & encouraged me and others to find our own style. They never told me what to do, but helped me think for myself.

Luehrman: helped to teach me that it's about the students. He was so knowledgeable and wise.

Weed: was not only an exceptional teacher, but genuinely cared. She was always accessible for any need we had, even ones not pertaining to school. 

Eubanks: she absolutely loved teaching and she taught in a way that made the students learn. She made class fun & interesting. It was almost impossible to not learn from her.

Chris: taught me that you need to let students express themselves in their own way. They should become their own artists, not replicas of you.

Kopecky: he taught college biology. He was not required to have any background knowledge of education, but he took the time to learn about how to be a good teacher. I would not have done well in biology if he had not been able to effectively persuade us to learn.

Dr. Brown: taught me the dos and don'ts or dealing with behavior issues. He cared enough to invite us to contact him in the future if we ever needed advice.

No name: Even though I don't remember her name, my art history teacher taught me how to make history fun & interesting.

When I student taught, my host teachers both taught me a lot. One allowed me to learn from my mistakes and helped me learn to evaluate myself and the other taught me what not to do. She tried to make me teach just like she did, but everyone has their own style and rhythm that they need to learn. She was very hard on her students and drove away some exceptional artists, because of their behavior. She taught me that we need to use art to help the struggling students, not discourage them more.

Now, I am a first year teacher. I see so many exceptional teachers that I aspire to be like, but I also see a lot of teachers that are burnt out and fed up. I hope that I always remember why I am in the teaching field, and that the day I am ready to quit, I realize it before I become a resentful educator.