Guest Speaker, Ms. O.

 A local teacher came to speak with us last week and give us some advice on teaching.  Ms. O. teaches at a high school near UW-Stout. As a high school teacher, she is the biggest advocate for the arts in the small town she teaches in. Her experience has taught her to take risks, be creative and to sometimes ask for forgiveness instead of permission.

One of my favorite stories that Ms. O presented us with was the story of a performance painting. At the Christmas band and choir concert, she teamed up with the music teacher to provide an example of art making through performance painting. A select group of courageous, brave, outgoing art students were selected to paint to the music of the band. While the band played, a winter painting was created on three large panels. Ms. O said that even though the painting wasn't very successful, the reaction of the audience as well as the participation of the students was the best part. No one had ever seen anything like it before, so it created a topic of conversation and really advocated for what her students do in the art room. This was a great way for her to advocate for the arts and to get art into the community.
Ms. O encouraged us future art teachers to take risks. Although we know to wait until we have been hired as an art teacher, gotten comfortable in our school and possibly even tenured, she said that taking risks to go outside of the box with projects is important to her. Taking her students outside, putting ribbons through an ugly fence on their campus, using her own grill to make an art metals project and so on are all ways that she takes risks in her classroom.

Ms. O was very inspirational because we could feel her fire for the arts, and her respect for her students in everything she said. Having a sense of humor, being flexible, allowing your students to have a say in some projects and being courageous in your classroom were all extremely beneficial words of advice. One day, I hope I can be as inspired by my students as you can tell that she is by hers!

She said, "Kids will do whatever you expect them do to" so we must have high expectations and hold our students accountable. If they say that art is hard, or that this project is difficult, that is a good thing! If you know they can accomplish their goal, they will eventually know it too.


Another great thing that Ms. O reminded us of was that kids wait 12 years for a diploma. It's like they are working for no pay for over a decade. It is our job as educators to give them a reward, give them credit, for what they do. Somehow we must publicly acknowledge their hard work or give them a credit for work they do in the summer, etc.


Art educators are the people who shape what art looks like. We are educating the children that will take what they learn from us and put it into the real world. We make the decisions that shape what the students do in the classroom and what art will mean to them.

The great thing about Ms. O is that she uses a lot of contemporary art in her classroom. She doesn't just stick to traditional art making processes, although they are still the building blocks of her classroom. She does things with unique materials, like snow sculptures, performance painting, murals, and so on. She never gets complacent in her classrooms, she is extremely flexible and works with her students to create projects that she knows they will love and be excited to participate in.

My favorite part of meeting with Ms. O was feeling her energy and enthusiasm about the arts. She has so much respect for her students, which I am positive they give right back to her.