A leap of faith.. and the payoff!

Whoever heard of a theatre teacher who became a third grade special ed. math teacher who became an eighth grade reading teacher who became career investigations teacher who became an economics and debate teacher who then finally became an art teacher?

Yep, that’s me.  A nontraditional start to teaching art that’s for sure!! And because of my lack of traditional art classes, my complete lack of self-confidence in the art world and all of that, I have really struggled to make sure that my students are getting what they need in class.

I know that they are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to the basics of drawing, painting and the like, but I really try to go the extra mile to give my students opportunities to succeed and I try to make sure that they get adequate experience using different mediums and such.

While this is just my second year teaching art, I know that I am doing a lot better than last year, and I am learning SO much!! I am one of those crazy people who is always looking for something new to learn, so teaching in a new field gives me a challenge.

Well, yesterday, I took more than 30 students to our regional art contest.  This translated into 54 pieces of art that were judged.  By the end of the night we had 32 medals and one piece advanced to state!  Consider this for a moment while I am boasting.. the teacher right before me in line while we were checking out had a stack of entries papers that was fairly sizeable.. I’d say at least 35 or more entries and she left with two medals. Last year, I had 15 students attend and 28 pieces judged and we had 4 medals.   And this year we brought home 32!! Yeah, I’m proud!! 

And I have to say, I’m proud of myself for working so hard and taking a leap of faith when I heard that the previous art teacher was retiring.  Growing up, I never thought I could draw.  In fact, I’m still one to hide my drawings, but I’m working on that. I’m also learning that I don’t have to be a gifted traditional artist to be a good art teacher.

So there you have it.  My leap of faith has paid off, and oh how good that feels!!